Fires in Rome, Versilia, Sardinia and the Bolognese Apennines
New emergencies against a backdrop of widespread drought. Since the start of the year, 75,000 hectares of woodland and land have gone up in smoke
Italy in the grip of fires. A forest fire broke out at around 12.30 pm near Via Pericoli in the Massimina area of Rome. Several teams from the provincial fire brigade have arrived on the scene and are working to extinguish the blaze. Rescue workers are operating with the support of forest firefighting units (AIB), whilst the Provincial Shift Commander and the Director of Fire-Extinguishing Operations (DOS) are coordinating the response and assessing whether to deploy aerial resources to contain the fire front. Operations are being hampered by the wind, which is helping the fire to spread. At present, no people are reported to be involved. The operation is still ongoing.
At around the same time, a fire was also reported in Versilia, on the hillside along Via Dietromonte, between Capezzano Pianore and Camaiore. Firefighters, forest fire crews and the local civil protection service are on the scene. A helicopter from the regional forest fire service is also taking off from Florence.
The situation is also critical in Sardinia, where officers from the Sardinian Regional Forestry Corps are responding, with the support of ground crews and a helicopter from the Iglesias operational base, to a fire in the Podere San Michele area, in the municipality of Carbonia. The commander of the Carbonia Forestry Station is coordinating operations on site. There are also fires in San Nicolò d’Arcidano, in the ‘Coddu sa barracca’ area, where regional rangers have requested the assistance of the helicopter from the Fenosu operational base. The Director of Fire-Fighting Operations at the Marrubiu Forestry Station is coordinating operations on site.
In Emilia Romagna, a forest fire has been burning since last night, affecting around one hectare of vegetation – including fields and woodland – in the village of San Damiano, in the municipality of Camugnano, in the Bolognese Apennines. The flames broke out at around 2.30 am and nine crews from the Bologna Fire Brigade, from the stations in Castiglione dei Pepoli, Monzuno, Vergato and Gaggio Montano, were deployed to the scene, supported by two water tankers. The ground crews are working to contain and extinguish the blaze.
The overall picture is that over 60 per cent of the country is affected by drought, with areas classified as under mild, moderate or severe alert. This is according to an estimate by Coldiretti based on Copernicus maps. The agricultural confederation emphasises that the drought is affecting all sectors, with the most serious situations affecting maize, rice, pastureland and soya, as well as vegetables, grapes, olives and fruit, whilst milk production on farms has fallen by 20 per cent. The drought emergency is compounded by that of wildfires. Since the start of the year, almost 75,000 hectares of woodland and land have already gone up in smoke, according to Coldiretti’s analysis of Effis data. According to Coldiretti, the situation highlights the urgent need to invest in the development of a national plan for reservoirs equipped with pumping systems capable of generating electricity.
