Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said this Tuesday at the inauguration ceremony of a memorial to honor the victims of the 2017 fires in Pedrógão Grande that the country should learn from the lessons of the past, after also proposing that next year the Day of Portugal to celebrate in the Center region.
After recalling the June and October fires six years ago, the president of the republic said that “we must learn from the lesson of the past”. “It is necessary to look at this water, which is life. Living means remembering the past, but looking to the future. We want to build a better future. It is necessary to give another sign of life” , the head of state stressed, before suggesting that June 10 celebrations be held in that region in 2024.
Marcelo also praised the work of Souto Mora, whose “reality surpassed the original project”, and gave a special salute to the victims of the 2017 fires.
Earlier, António Costa had spoken, recalling that “Portugal is a country particularly exposed” to fires and that this is “a memorial fire warning”.
The memorial, which cost 1.8 million euros, includes a lake of about 2,500 square meters, fed by a 60-meter-long gargoyle and bordered by a strip of plants, and a wall with the names of each of the 115 victims of the June and October 2017 burning.
It was built next to State Road 236-1, where most of the fatalities were found from the fire that broke out on June 17, 2017 in Pedrógão Grande and spread to neighboring municipalities, killing 66 people.
That fire injured more than 250 people, seven of them seriously, destroying half a thousand homes and 50 businesses.
In October of the same year, other fires in the central region killed 49 and injured about 70, completely or partially destroying about 1,500 homes and more than 500 businesses.
António Costa is visiting forest prevention actions this Tuesday. After visiting Mação, the Prime Minister also went to Sardoal and Pedrógão Grande.
Source: DN
