(ANSA) - ROME, SEPTEMBER 30 - The 2022 summer campaign against forest fires ended with 1,102 air competition requests sent to the Unified Air Operations Center of the Civil Protection Department.
A number less than 250 compared to last year, but there are more regions affected by the fires.
The state area fleet, in fact, has intervened several times also in the North, in areas which are traditionally not particularly affected by the phenomenon of forest fires during the summer season.
During the air support operations to the teams and regional firefighting aircraft, the state's air fleet carried out 5,849 flight hours and 30,994 launches with over 176 million liters of extinguishing agent.
The largest number of requests came from Sicily and Calabria, which together represent about 50% of the national total, with 301 and 223 requests respectively.
Contrary to what happened in the past summer campaigns, there are also 38 interventions by the State fleet in the regions of the Alpine arc.
Undoubtedly an anomaly, notes the Civil Protection, if we consider that in the same period of last year no competition requests were received from Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto and the Autonomous Province of Trento.
The national fleet in its maximum use was made up of 34 aircraft - of which 24 from the National Fire Brigade (15 Canadair, 4 Erickson S64F helicopters and 5 AB-412 helicopters), 8 Armed Forces helicopters 5 AB412 EI helicopters, 2 HH139 helicopters AM, 1 AB212 MM helicopter) and 2 of the Carabinieri (2 NH-500 helicopters).
(HANDLE).