Forest fires in South Tyrol and on Lake Garda: "A quarter probably caused by cigarette butts"

Created: 07/15/2022 13:28

More than 5 hectares of forest have burned down since a fire broke out in Nago on July 10, 2022.

The small Italian community is located above Lake Garda in the province of Trento.

© IMAGO/Aleksander Kalka/Zuma Wire

In a popular holiday region on Lake Garda, the fire brigade is fighting forest fires, and the flames are also raging in South Tyrol.

At least a quarter of the fires could have been avoided.

Nago/Frauwaal - The heat wave keeps the whole of Southern Europe in suspense.

Italy has been struggling with extreme drought for weeks, which is why the government has already declared a state of emergency in some regions.

Bush and forest fires occur again and again, a popular holiday region near Lake Garda was particularly badly hit, but the flames are also raging in South Tyrol.

If the population were more careful, the numerous fires would be prevented.

Italy: Around 150 firefighters are fighting fires in South Tyrol at night

The fire brigade in South Tyrol fought a major fire in the hiking area near Frauwaal with around 150 emergency services during the night.

A helicopter also assisted in the extinguishing work.

This was announced by the fire department on Friday morning.

It took several hours for firefighters to contain the fire.

The flames sometimes hit the night sky several meters high and quickly ate their way along the forest slope, which was extremely dry due to the heat.

Fire at Lake Garda: Fires near Nago-Torbole flare up again

Lake Garda is a popular holiday region for German tourists.

Due to the extreme drought, the government is now even pumping water out of the lake to supply other even drier regions.

The water level has already fallen by half a meter.

But that is not the only effect of the extreme drought in Italy: in the north of Lake Garda, numerous fires have been keeping the fire brigade in suspense since Sunday.

The fires were already under control near the municipality of Nago-Torbole, but have now flared up again, as a spokesman for the Autonomous Province of Trento said when asked by the German Press Agency.

How humans pollute the environment

View photo gallery

According to official information, the authorities had been fighting several fires on the Monte Baldo mountain in an area of ​​around 45 hectares by Wednesday last week.

The flames are now under control, but the area will continue to be monitored with drones because the winds blowing from the south, also known as Ora del Garda, which are particularly blowing on Lake Garda, could fan the fire again, it said.

On Thursday evening, the fire brigade also announced that it had fought a large forest fire near Genoa.

There is still a risk of fire in Sicily and Sardinia.

also read

"Huge forest fire" broke out on Lake Garda - flames rage above a popular holiday resort

Drought emergency in Italy: what vacationers on Lake Garda and in Tuscany need to know now

Forest fires in Italy: Around a quarter caused by cigarette butts

In Italy, the authorities registered twice as many fires in forests this year as the average for the whole year.

There have been more than 40 forest fires in the country so far, at least ten of which were avoidable.

"A quarter of the forest fires this year were probably caused by cigarette butts," said the State Councilor for Forestry, Arnold Schuler.

"Any risky behavior that could cause a forest fire must be avoided at all costs," Schuler warned.

According to a study by the environmental organization WWF, only about four percent of forest fires worldwide have natural causes.

Other forest protection experts such as Prof. Michael Müller from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at the TU Dresden come to a similar number.

Almost all forest fires are caused either intentionally by slash and burn and arson or by carelessness.

Particular sources of danger are campfires, discarded cigarette butts or matches, according to the WWF report.

"An often underestimated cause is hot catalytic converters and exhaust systems from cars and motorcycles that are parked on forest floors," according to the WWF experts.

In addition, power lines or railway lines can be triggers,

Man-made climate change is leading to more extreme weather conditions, longer droughts and dry periods.

This in turn increases the risk of forest fires.

In this respect, many fires are also indirectly caused by humans

.