Out of frustration over poor grades, 14-year-old ignites forest fires across several hectares in Portugal

A 14-year-old boy from Seidões, in northern Portugal’s Fafe municipality, has confessed to setting multiple fires that have ravaged local communities over recent summers. Authorities said the teenager would ignite matches in forested areas before fleeing on his scooter.

Citing Portugal’s Judicial Police (PJ), Euronews reported that the boy is suspected of starting fires across the parishes of Seidões, Ardegão, and Arnozela. In a statement, police suggested that “the young man may have acted out of anger and frustration stemming from his poor academic performance and the precariousness of his social relationships.”

The selected locations for the fires had a high risk of spreading due to the region’s dense forests, steep terrain, and abundant dry vegetation, according to PJ police, as cited by Puturgal Resident.


The repeated occurrence of fires in this region has led to an investigation. "During the summer, these parishes were systematically ravaged by fire, sometimes daily, causing great concern among residents and destroying several hectares of forest," the official statement added, cited by Euronews. The investigation, led by the Braga Judicial Police, has been handed over to the Public Prosecutor's Office, which subsequently transferred the case to the Family and Juvenile Court.

As of August 20, authorities had arrested 52 individuals suspected of arson, most of whom were apprehended during that month, according to data from the Lusa news agency.

Forest fire in Europe

Recent improvements in the weather have provided firefighters and the public with a break from the fires in Spain. As of Friday morning, August 29, 97 active fires were reported, most nearly extinguished, the outlet reported.

The only ongoing fire is in Rebordelo, Vinhais, where more than 400 firefighters, 140 vehicles, and six aircraft are deployed.

While temperatures across the Iberian Peninsula have dropped, ranging from 14°C to 32°C on Friday, the Portuguese Institute of Marine and Atmosphere (IPMA) warns that the interior and southern regions remain at very high fire risk.