Experiencing my first fire season in Portugal

This week, Portugal has been heavily affected by severe fires across the country. In both the northern and central region many areas and towns were affected by the fires.
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In July of this year I moved to central Portugal. I knew that there are often fire fires in the summer, but I didn't expect to have a fire relatively close to the town I'm living in. In this video I share my experience; you'll see how close the fire is and how I prepare the house to leave it behind in case I need to.
My thoughts go out to those who have lost a loved one and / or to those who have lost their belongings.
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Originally from the Netherlands, I moved to China in 2010, where I lived until the summer of 2024. Most of my time in China was spend in Beijing, the capital. Since July 2024, I am living in central Portugal with my husband and our two cats, Sporty & Ethel.
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[@Ana-r8p]

Praying for rain for you. Good to see that you are well.

[@GoYvon]

Thanks!

[@iamcanadianedmonton]

hope your house won't be affected. take care. love from canada.

[@GoYvon]

Thanks! At the moment the fire has been put out, so we should be good here.

[@saarland2china]

Wow, good to see you're well off!! Take good care of yourself!!

[@GoYvon]

Thank you, I will. I'll continue to monitor the situation and keep my bag ready for a few more days (until the rain comes).

[@jeansun4378]

Bless you both, I will be preying for you♥️♥️♥️

[@GoYvon]

Thank you!

[@yvonnebirch6026]

Rooting for you guys. I remember those smoky skies from living in LA . Ca has a fire season too. There are some right now . Take care ! Good luck !

[@GoYvon]

Thanks! So far things seem to have calmed down here.

[@dchankk]

Stay safe and take care.

[@lolitabonita08]

i really hope ur house will be spare and u guys be safe...did u check on the eldery and people who live alone? pets, etc.

[@johnpierce2390]

Good luck with the rain it looks like a little bit hope you get some do you have fire Insurance on your house or you guys need to thank about Fire safety clean 50 m around your home it’s the Portugal laws to keep clean up to 50m 👍✌️🤙❤️🇵🇹❤️

[@andysmorgen]

maybe build a firebreak on the edge of the land over time

[@isasinclair603]

So sorry to hear this! It is definitely not what you want to experience, not this soon and actually never! Sadly it has been a new annual reality for us here in Western Canada. It had all been new to me as well and now, sadly it is a new normal for us. Had our bags packed a few times (actually always have emergency bags ready year round now because in winter we have different kind of emergencies). I know people who had to evacuate and some lost their houses. One of the things we cannot escape is the smoke. Often it is so extreme that it gets dark,. I now watch the smoke forecast more than the weather forecast, have several air purifiers in the house and often only go outside with masks on. Just in July a good part of our precious town Jasper, known to many tourists around the world burnt down with the flames approaching town at a rate of 30 minutes for 5 km and flames up to 100m high. Nature is powerful! What is home insurance like in Portugal? Is there provisions for natural desaster? Is there discounts when you built more fire resistant (roofs for example)? Again, I am very sorry! It is really scary when this happens and not what you wanted to focus on. You are planning a new life with renovations and are making the house all new and I am sure, don’t want to think about possibly loosing it! But yes, really sad that lives were lost!

[@GoYvon]

What kind of emergencies do you have in winter? Do you run the risk of getting snowed in? Home insurance is not mandatory. When we bought the house in April we went to the bank to get insurance and we were told that many people don't insure their house. Even though they know there is a risk it could burn down. In the 2017 fires, many people lost their house and didn't have it insured. We have coverage for our house, it is a few hundred euros per year. Thanks for the long comment, always appreciate it! 💕

[@isasinclair603]

Yes exactly! Especially on the acreage we have gotten snowed in and when travelling on the highway, it is essential to have an emergency bag with us. I have had to stay overnight in the city with my kids home alone on the acreage because the roads were impassable and I have driven in scary blizzards where I found myself in the ditch and only because I kept going and was lucky, made it out. It is kind of crazy how we are affected by nature in so many different ways here. Heat and fire and smoke, extreme cold and snow but we also had a major flood in the city due to heavy rain with the rivers overflowing during snow melt. The world is changing and I think you guys are smart, putting thought into insurance and preventative measures. I can related to the dryness, when you tried to water around the house. I also love that you want to collect rain water. I am doing that even in the city here now. I am the odd lady on the block who has all these tubs filled with rain water around the house lol.

[@nileshbhattacharya2526]

Lovely video 😍 good to be here after long time 🎉. Hii when you will make New Chinese video 📸. Love from India ....

[@GoYvon]

Good to see you back! I've left China and moved to Portugal, there won't be any videos about China in the future. Maybe a 'what i miss' or comparison video.

[@charleneji6759]

Praying for rain. You guys take care. ❤ Wildfire is more common as a result of global warming. Smoke is toxic. You might want to consider purchasing a air purifier.

[@GoYvon]

That's a good idea! Didn't think about it when I shipped our belongings, could've brought the air purifier with us.

[@whistlingdiesel]

Good to have friends in town. Get some FFP2 masks in case the smoke is hitting you guys harder.

[@bassalh2025]

The mother nature will take care of itself. Also smokers shouldn't be ignorant and throw their cigarette buts through their car window as well as some greedy farmers who set fire deliberately to their crop in order to benefit from the insurance. So hopefully some rain will do the job 👍