In June 2017, life in Pedrógão Grande changed forever. I was only 12 years old when the fire arrived without warning, taking lives, homes, memories, and the sense of security of an entire community.This book was born from the need to tell not only what happened, but also what remained. The fires did not end when the flames were extinguished. They lived on in the scars of the land, in the stories of survivors, and in the memories of those who witnessed the tragedy.Built from newspaper archives, timelines, photographs taken eight years later, and interviews with victims, this work serves as both testimony and remembrance. It gives voice to those who suffered and preserves stories that must not be forgotten.These pages were not easy to write. Every image and every word meant revisiting a painful past. Yet remembering is a form of justice, and sharing these experiences helps ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated.This book is dedicated to all the victims of the Pedrógão Grande fires—those who lost their lives and those who continue to live with the consequences. It is also a tribute to a land that suffered deeply but refused to be forgotten.

an homage