Portugal Issues 1,600+ Wildfire Prevention Fines to Councils and Landowners

More than one thousand six hundred fines in just three years, and municipal authorities account for almost a third of them – that is the fresh balance sheet from the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) on missed deadlines for clearing vegetation. The figures confirm an improving, yet still fragile, commitment to wildfire prevention across the country.

Quick view: where the penalties land

• 1,634 total citations to collective entities since 2023

• 465 of those aimed at municipal councils

• Centre and North regions issued the bulk of notices

• Private owners were not spared: 3,115 individual fines in 2025 alone

• Up to €120,000 for a single organisational offence

Why Portugal keeps counting the undergrowth

Portuguese summers regularly flirt with extremes, and thick, unmanaged vegetation is the perfect accelerant. After the catastrophic fires of 2017, lawmakers tightened the gestão de combustível rules, ordering every landholder – from homeowners to town halls – to create defensible spaces. Failure to prune, fell or shred before spring deadlines now carries mandatory fines. The GNR’s three-year scorecard shows that enforcement has become routine, a deterrent authorities say is as critical as the water-bombers that dominate headlines in August.

Crunching the GNR data

Between January 2023 and September 2025, 1,374 of the 1,634 infractions involved pure fuel-management lapses. The annual breakdown offers an unexpected trend:

• 2023: 221 council fines; overall 542 collective fines

• 2024: 123 council fines; overall 404 collective fines

• 2025: 121 council fines (provisional); overall 688 collective finesThe dip in local-authority infractions is encouraging, yet the overall rise in 2025 suggests private companies and utilities are falling behind in vegetation control.

Councils in the spotlight – but kept anonymous

Legally, the GNR may not reveal which chambers were cited, a rule designed to protect due-process rights while cases remain open. What the force does share is geography: districts such as Leiria, Santarém and Coimbra repeatedly top the list of notifications. Municipalities risk fines ranging from €1,600 up to €120,000, and they can still be billed for the work if they fail to act after being notified.

Private plots: a stubborn blind spot

Enforcement is harsher on individuals. By late September 2025, 2,507 of the 3,115 fines to private citizens related directly to uncut brush. The GNR notes an 8.9 % year-on-year increase, ending a gentle downward trajectory that had held since 2020. Proving ownership, especially in depopulated rural parishes, remains the single biggest obstacle to faster action, according to the force’s environmental unit, SEPNA.

From punishment to persuasion

Parallel to sanctioning, the GNR mounts massive outreach drives. More than 115,000 residents engaged with 7,237 sessions under the 2024 edition of “Floresta Segura”, while 2025’s tour is already closing in on 5,000 events. Fire-safety agents stress that a €280 fine may sting today, but an uncleared hectare can cost a community lives and millions tomorrow.

Cash on the table, progress on the ground?

Central government assigned €48 M in Recovery and Resilience Plan money to expand the primary fuel-break network. Yet an AGIF audit indicates only 40 % of the one-million-hectare target was actually treated by 2024. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development flagged those gaps as a weak link in its 2025 country review, urging quicker spending and better municipal coordination.

Expert voices weigh in

Tiago Oliveira, who chairs AGIF, encapsulates the consensus: “Big fires are avoided with a chainsaw in March, not with a Canadair in August.” Civil-protection scholars back this, pointing out that three hot, windy days in 2024 erased several years of below-average burnt area. They argue fines only work when budgets, labour and weather all align to let property owners comply.

What to expect this spring

Deadlines for cutting vegetation typically fall in April for inland councils and in May near the coast. The GNR has already warned it will intensify patrols once the grace period ends. Owners who ignore warning letters risk both a fine and a compulsory clean-up bill. Residents can check local bylaws on council websites, many of which now offer interactive maps pinpointing priority zones.

In a nutshell

Municipal non-compliance is shrinking, but still significant.

Private companies and landowners are now the fastest-growing source of violations.

Government funding and enforcement need to work in tandem to meet fuel-break targets.

Clearing a plot costs far less than facing a blaze – or a four-figure fine.Anyone with land near forest or scrub should act before the sap rises; the next GNR patrol may not knock twice.