In Italy, firefighters have been working on forest fires again since Monday evening. This time, towns west of the Adriatic resort town of Rimini and the popular holiday island of Sicily are hit. The first people have already been brought to safety before the flames.
The fire first broke out on Monday evening in a pedestrian area in the municipality of Civitella di Romagna, near Rimini. A video showed thick smoke hanging over the hilly area. Strong winds fed the fires again and again. According to emergency services, ten people had to be rescued from the flames.
Forest fire in Sicily
A fire broke out in the coastal municipality of Trabia, east of Palermo, on Tuesday. According to media reports, the flames endangered houses with gas cylinders that could have caused massive damage in an explosion. The residents were therefore brought to safety. The fire brigade is currently fighting the two fires from the air, among other things, because the area is sometimes difficult to access.
At the moment, another fire is raging in a natural park in central Portugal. The fire broke out again on Monday afternoon and was fanned by high winds, according to the head of civil defence, André Fernandes. Several villages were evacuated as a precaution and more than 1,000 firefighters were still on duty on Tuesday morning.
arson?
Forest and forest fires are favored by drought, but can often also be traced back to careless human behavior and arson. According to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), some 420 square kilometers have already burned down in Italy this year. That’s bigger than the entire city of Cologne. However, only areas of 30 hectares or more were taken into account.
In Portugal, about 80,000 hectares of land have already been destroyed this year. The current one is the summer’s biggest to date, with the southern European country recording its hottest July in nearly a century.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
