Fire protection/ land clearing

Land clearing means:

- cutting of weeds, bushes, brush, among other plants, in a strip no less than 50 metres wide around buildings located in rural or forested areas (e.g. households, warehouses, factories, among other equipments);

- cutting the branches of trees up to four metres above the ground if trees are eight metres or more, or up to 50% of the height if they are less than eight metres;

- spacing of 4 metres between trees ( but 10 metres in case of pines or eucalyptus, as these are highly inflammable trees);

- cutting of trees and bushes less than five metres from the building, taking care that the branches do not project onto the roof;

- shrubs should not exceed 50 centimetres in height, which is reduced to 20 centimetres in the case of herbaceous plants;

- creating a paved strip around the above buildings of one to two metres if possible;

- cleaning up after clearing.

https://www.deco.proteste.pt/familia-co … s-terrenos

But clearing land does not mean eliminating all vegetation. Besides, it implies the respect for legally protected species, like the cork oak (sobreiro) or the holm oak (azinheira), among others. Trees of public interest also need special protection, for example, some olive trees (oliveiras), due to their age, but these are signposted with an identification plate. The same happens with gardens that are properly maintained and agricultural areas. However, these have some exceptions, for example, if they are lying fallow (terras em pousio).

@JohnnyPT How about a plot of land that has no buildings of any kind on it, but is close to a road. While driving along EN2 I have seen lots of properties that has a maybe 10 meter wide area inside their fence cleared of all vegetation. Maybe as a fire break towards the road? I see that there is a lot of work going on in our area to clear the area left and right of the roads from overgrowing plants.

Hi Tom,

I'm pleased that this is happening, at least in some municipalities.

That is the job of the town councils and the fire brigades. My previous post referred to the duty and obligation (until 30 April) of property owners to clean up their own properties.

You could ask at  your local Bombeiro place, they are mainly volunteers so an "local" asking for local advice are often welcomed, a few SMALL cold beers for the non drivers helps them talk.  They also have advice on plumbers, cafes. parking regulations,  cats, football (avoid if poss) and their unattached aunts (other parents siblings are available).