Here is where it started, my friend said. We got out of the car, walked up the hill and suddenly stopped.
Stopping suddenly is something that you just cannot help but do when you visit Serra de Sintra. Especially in autumn and winter time. It´s misty mountains call for you, trees covered with green moss slowly turn to look at you, climbing plants going up in the mossy trees gesture you to go up with them. Sintra looks like magic could be real.
This time we also stopped for a view that took our breath away. But unfortunately, they were blackened hills that stopped our breathing this time. Burnt black hills with little pieces of burnt vegetation stood out against fresh green hills that we could still see far away. It was a devastating sight and impossible to get your head around the idea that possibly the fire was started intentionally.
Every summer some fires consume parts Portugal. Many people think they are deliberately started. Of course this is not always easy to proof. Regarding this incident in Sintra, how does a fire start on top of a windy hill in the middle of the night next to an abandoned convent? I am sure the birds were not to blame.
It is reported that more than 600 firemen were at work, preventing the fire to spread and protecting the houses. And we could see they did an amazing job! We saw houses that only had a meter of green grass surrounding them, and then, all is burnt. They say only one house got caught, only few people got hurt and hopefully few animals perished.
When we were there, about 2 weeks after the fire, some new life had already been planted. A lot more work needs to be done and it will take a lot of time for those hills to get their old magical character back.
Today some volunteers went there to plant more trees. Unfortunately I could not join, but I hope I can be there next time!