How a volunteer-run wildfire site in Portugal stayed online during DDoS attacks

Fogos.pt, a volunteer-run project led by João Pina, has become a vital source of real-time wildfire information for millions in Portugal, evolving from a late-night side project parsing PDF fire reports into a full-featured app and website with visual maps and historical data. As wildfires are a global challenge, reliable information is crucial, as demonstrated by fogos.pt's role during Portugal's intense wildfire seasons, where it is used by firefighters, journalists, citizens, and government agencies. The site is part of Project Galileo, Cloudflare's initiative to protect important public interest sites, which proved essential when fogos.pt suffered two Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in July and August 2025. Cloudflare's autonomous systems mitigated these attacks, ensuring no downtime. With traffic surging to nearly 60,000 concurrent users and handling over 550 million requests in two weeks during peak wildfire alerts, fogos.pt exemplifies how public service and technology can collaborate effectively. Despite lacking formal funding, this project highlights the power of community-driven initiatives, supported by allies like Cloudflare, to maintain crucial public services.

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