There is still a risk of new forest fires in Italy. The fire brigade in the Tuscan province of Massa Carrara on the border with Liguria fought flames on a hard-to-reach hill on Wednesday, the Tuscan authorities said. Two helicopters and six units from different forces are on site. Increasing winds might fuel the flames in the area.
The fire brigade in South Tyrol was also busy extinguishing a forest fire in Bozen on Wednesday. In Sicily and Sardinia there was an increased forest fire warning level in parts of the holiday islands.
Heat and drought are currently prevailing in Italy. Above all, the dryness in combination with wind fanned the forest or bush fires once more and once more. The north in particular has had significantly less rain than usual so far this year. Firefighting work is also underway on the border with Slovenia. A tweet from Vigili del Fuoco shows a firefighting helicopter fighting fires in San Dorligo della Valle.
Italy is also supporting other EU countries fighting fires. According to the civil defense, two fire-fighting planes were sent to Portugal on Wednesday to help fight the fire there. The Portuguese had asked for support through the EU’s civil protection mechanism in Brussels. (dpa)
