The 13th July 2022 is one that many Quinta do Lago residents will remember for a long time to come. There was a hot easterly wind blowing and as dawn broke there was a very visible plume of smoke rising from the direction of Faro.
Within hours this had turned into a uncontrollable forest fire that threatened the lives and properties of everyone in the area.
The situation remained tense for a number of days, until all the fires were under control. In the end it was thanks to the work of all the emergency services but especially the fireman from across the Algarve that no lives were lost and property damage was kept to a minimum.
The Board of Quinta do Golf Club met soon after and, aware of a willingness in the community to show appreciation to the firemen who had literally been sleeping on the roadside only days before, immediately agreed to donate an initial amount from Club funds.
At the very moment the meeting of the Club Board was ending, Barbara Leitch, organiser of the Loulé area of the Associação Alerta de Incéndio Florestal, happened to be distributing flyers in Quinta do Lago, and sat down with Club Manager, Mark Foot, and explained the work of the Association. This was exactly the type of organisation the Club was looking for to donate to. After receiving further information from the Association founder, Debby Burton, the Club decided to make an appeal to all members asking for donations.
Understanding that many members would have already made contributions to the fire services by other means, Club Manager, Mark Foot, was amazed that within 48 hours of the email being sent over €20000 was pledged, including 2 donations of €5000 each from individual members. When the appeal was closed at the end of July a total of €62000 had been raised.
The Club has been informed by the Associação Alerta de Incéndio Florestal that the money will be used, once the fire season ends, to repair and renew the stock of specialised forest firefighting suits across all the services of the Bombeiros Voluntarios in the Algarve and Southern Alentejo.
