Sicily is on fire – desert winds fan fires of a “malevolent nature”. 350 hectares of a nature reserve near Trapani in the west of the island burned down.
Asparagus farmers are said to be to blame for the disaster. Last year, an unprecedented series of forest fires caused irreparable damage to vegetation on the holiday island. The island has been suffering from heat waves and drought for over a year, and the flames even reached the island's capital, Palermo, in the fall.