Research Purpose:

Nowadays, rural fires are mostly caused by human actions, being the result of the complex interrelationships between society, the economy, and the environment. The knowledge of the ignition causes of rural fires is extremely important for the design of effective prevention policies that lead to a reduction in wildfires occurrence. The purpose of this research is to understand the trends of the causes of rural fires in Lousada, one of the twenty Portuguese municipalities with the highest number of occurrences.

Methodology:

The data used were analyzed through descriptive statistics, Kernel density, and exploratory regression.

Findings:

In the municipality of Lousada, rekindle and negligent causes explain most of the fires with a known cause. Rekindle appears associated with slope, forests, and artificial areas. Negligent ignitions are positively correlated with forest areas and open spaces. Although progresses have been made in determining the causes of fire outbreaks, for many occurrences it was impossible to determine the source of ignition.

Originality/Value:

It is essential to improve the knowledge of the main causes of rural fire, since this knowledge will support the definition of prevention measures adapted to the context of the municipality, with a positive effect on reducing the high number of occurrences.

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