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Use against the flames in Sicily: 46,500 forest fire operations since mid-June - 20,000 more than in the previous year
Photo: Salvatore Cavalli / AP
Besides Greece and Turkey, Italy is also suffering more from forest fires in the Mediterranean region.
The authorities have recently evacuated the residents of the southern Italian community of Mesoraca.
The fires burned close to the houses of the small community, as can be seen on a video of the fire brigade.
Thick smoke rose over the place.
A fire-fighting aircraft dropped water over the fires.
Mesoraca is located in the Calabria region between the capital Catanzaro and Crotone.
The fire brigade did not initially announce how many people were brought to safety.
In total, the fire brigade reported more than 100 missions in Calabria.
The helpers also went out dozens of times to put out forest fires in Sicily and Apulia.
Since June 15, the fire brigade has reported around 46,500 forest fires - almost 20,000 more than in the same period of the previous year.
From the helicopter, the emergency services filmed completely smoky and charred tracts of land in the Apennines in Calabria and the Madonie Mountains in Sicily.
Treasures of biodiversity in danger
In the municipality of Tiriolo, a little more than 70 kilometers southwest of Mesoraca in Calabria, the flames moved towards the city center, according to the fire department. In Calabria, the forest fires also threaten parts of the Aspromonte National Park at the end of the Italian boot tip. All available emergency services are on site to fight the flames.
Other fires were reported in Zomaro in the national park, among others.
The flames had advanced to within a kilometer of one of the most important treasures of biodiversity in the park, said the President of the Parco Nazionale Aspromonte, Leo Autelitano, on Tuesday afternoon.
The other fires in the park continued to spread or flare up again.
"We urgently need planes on all fronts, otherwise the whole park will be burned in an unprecedented catastrophe," said Autelitano.
"Still exposed to arson attacks"
Because of its landscape and location, the park is listed among the Unesco Global Geoparks. A video showed how thick smoke rose on a wooded slope and flames ate their way through the vegetation. The fire brigade reported that they had two fire fighting planes in the area around San Luca in the west of the park. There, the rescue workers recovered two dead people after a fire on a farm at the end of last week.
Some of the fires currently raging in Italy have been started by arsonists. Only at the beginning of the week was an alleged perpetrator caught in Sicily. "Unfortunately we are still exposed to attacks by arsonists (...)," said Calabria's regional president Nino Spirlì. He called for the penalties to be sharply increased. Otherwise this "criminal rage" will continue. In many parts of Italy, there is also extreme heat and drought, which further fan the flames.
Meanwhile, the Italian government is looking for ways to better prepare the regions for natural disasters in the future.
"Of course, these aids have to be found, we can't just let the areas go to waste," said Stefano Patuanelli on the sidelines of his visit to Sardinia, which is also affected by the fires.
The areas should become more resistant to fire or floods.
On the spot, the 47-year-old politician from the populist five-star movement said he had no words for what he had seen.
The people were hit by an unprecedented fire front.
Fires have raged repeatedly in the province of Oristano since the end of July and caused great damage to agriculture and tourist areas.
On Wednesday Patuanelli wants to visit Sicily, which is also badly affected.
apr / dpa
