MIGUEL PEREIRA DA SILVA/LUSA
Firefighters fight the flames during The fire that started near the village of Piodão, in Arganil, and spread to Silvares, in Fundão.
The national network now has 151 surveillance towers, with a recent expansion in Aveiro. However, around half of the territory remains unsupervised.
The video surveillance and automatic detection system for rural fires currently covers around 50% of the territory mainland Portugal and four million hectares of forest, but continues to leave several areas considered high risk without electronic monitoring. Among the areas still unprotected, the Peneda-Gerês National Park, Alto Minho, Alto Tâmega, the interior of Alentejo and the Algarve mountains stand out.
The national network has approximately 150 remote monitoring towersequipped with cameras, radios and weather stations. The majority operate through the Ciclope system, developed by INOV-INESC, which allows ignitions to be detected and the evolution of fires to be monitored in real time at distances of up to 25 kilometers.
In addition to deterrent effect on potential criminal actsthe cameras provide crucial information to assess the progression of the flames and support the decision on mobilizing resources on the ground, emphasizes .
Despite the advances recorded in recent decades, the expansion of the system has depended above all on financial capacity and political will of municipalities and intermunicipal communities, which does not always coincide with the areas that have the highest number of ignitions.
After a period of stagnation, the network is growing again. In the Aveiro Region, the three existing towers are being reinforced with five more structurestwo of which are already in operation. With this expansion, the total number of towers in the country is expected to increase from 146 to 151 in the coming months.
The Peneda-Gerês National Park continues to be one of the most striking examples of the lack of coverage. Interestingly, it was precisely there that, in 1994, the pilot project that gave rise to the Ciclope system was born. Three decades later, the area remains without electronic surveillancealthough a process led by the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission is underway to implement a solution.
