Various inland municipalities are fuming over the government’s plan for special rules for communities most vulnerable to wildfires. The ‘Carta de Perigosidade de incêndio rural’ defines areas in which people and activity will have to be limited on days of greatest fire risk. The municipalities say this is an assault on people’s freedoms and could see people moving away from areas deemed high risk, prejudicing the local economy/ tourism, etc. In short, they believe the charter is more discriminatory than helpful. In Pampilosa da Serra, for example, the charter “could limit 94% of the area”, says mayor Jorge Custôdio, who fears the municipality could be left ‘deserted’ by inhabitants who refuse these kind of limitations during heatwaves in the summer. The government has said the new indications will not come into force until 2024, thus municipalities have until then to plead their various points
