Forest fires rage: Italy temporarily blocks the highway and two beaches - villages near the border are evacuated
Created: 07/21/2022, 11:46 am
By: Marc Dimitriu
All of Europe is suffering from a severe heat wave.
Forest fires are raging across the continent, keeping firefighters in suspense.
In Spain, hundreds have died as a result.
Forest fires
in
Italy
: motorway and two beaches temporarily closed.
Border region
with Italy: villages in Slovenia evacuated.
Extreme
heat wave:
Forest fires rage across Europe.
The news ticker is continuously updated.
Update from July 21, 9:56 a.m .:
In Italy, several regions are affected by severe forest fires.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the northeast of the country is also fighting the flames.
On Tuesday and Wednesday (July 19/20), Autovie Venete had to completely close the A4 in the direction of Trieste between Redipuglia and Sistiana.
Employees at the toll booths there had to be brought to safety from the effects of the fires.
Holiday traffic came to a standstill, resulting in major traffic jams.
Forest fires in Italy: highway and two beaches temporarily closed
Rail traffic also had to be stopped.
The route from Venice to Trieste could no longer be used between the port city of Monfalcone and Duino Aurisina.
Travelers could no longer reach Trieste train station.
Dense clouds of smoke formed over the popular holiday resort of Grado on the Gulf of Trieste, caused by a fire in nearby Monfalcone.
Two beaches in Grado had to be closed in the meantime.
Helicopters fly extinguishing missions near Trieste (Italy), where a large forest fire is raging.
© Luka Dakskobler/dpa
Forest fires in France, Portugal and Italy: Several fatalities and hundreds injured
Update from July 20, 11 p.m.:
The situation on Wednesday (July 20) was still dramatic in southern European countries.
On the southern French Atlantic coast, the fire brigade has been fighting two large forest fires for more than a week.
In Portugal, as the civil defense
ANEPC announced
, 1,200 emergency services had to fight a total of 25 larger and smaller forest fires on Wednesday morning.
According to the ANEPC
, 1,055 people had to leave their settlements due to the fires of the past few days . At
least 3 people died and 223 were injured, 6 of them seriously.
In Tuscany, Italy, more than 100 firefighters continued to fight a large forest fire near the city of Lucca.
Around 500 residents in the area of the municipality of Massarosa were evacuated.
Regional President Eugenio Giani tweeted on Wednesday morning that some gas tanks had exploded.
Border region with Italy: villages in Slovenia evacuated
Update from July 20, 9:00 p.m.:
Several hundred firefighters fought a forest fire in western Slovenia on Wednesday (July 20), which could possibly become the worst fire in the country's history.
The fire broke out the day before in the forested Karst, where vegetation had dried out from the intense heat.
In the region near the border with Italy, alarm sirens were sounded in several communities on Wednesday afternoon, during which the wind had further fanned the flames, and some villages were evacuated, according to rescue workers.
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"We will never be able to contain the fire in one day," predicted Srecko Sestan of civil protection, according to news website
N1
, "Let's hope it doesn't become the worst in history."
The fire in Slovenia is raging in the Karst region, near the Italian border.
© IMAGO / Italy Photo Press
Persistent fires near Bordeaux: Macron visits victims in France
Update from July 20, 7:10 p.m .:
French President Emmanuel Macron has now visited the forest fire area on the southern French Atlantic coast.
Two large forest fires have been raging south of Bordeaux near La-Teste-de-Buch and Landiras for more than a week.
The flames destroyed more than 20,600 hectares of land, and a total of around 36,750 people had to be evacuated preventively.
According to Macron, the emergency services are now in the process of getting the fire at La-Teste-de-Buch under control.
However, it will take several weeks for the situation to stabilize.
Sandrune Carella (left), owner of the Pyla campsite that burned down in the recent forest fire, hugs Emmanuel Macron, President of France, during his visit to La-Teste-de-Buch.
© picture alliance/dpa/AP Pool |
Bob Edme
For the future, the President sees some room for improvement.
"The use of the forest was not good," said Macron, which made the work of the emergency services more difficult.
Burnt areas should be planted again quickly, but better prevention should be ensured with regard to further fires.
For example, forest paths are needed that are maintained, and the work of the security forces must be better adapted to climate change.
During his visit to Gironde, which was badly hit by the forest fires, Macron also thanked the firefighters and also met operators whose campsites were destroyed by the fire.
Forest fires in Europe: Popular hiking area affected
Update from July 20, 4:41 p.m .:
The forest fires in north-eastern Italy have now also spread to the Slovenian karst area.
Residents of the border villages of Sela na Krasu, Hudi Log, Korita na Krasu and Nova Vas were evacuated on Wednesday, news portal 24ur.com reported.
600 firefighters and helpers were deployed to fight the flames, said Srecko Sestan, commander of the Slovenian civil defense.
Three houses caught fire, five firefighters suffered minor injuries, it said.
In the Slovenian Karst, the emergency services have to fight several sources of fire.
The extinguishing work is made more difficult by the heavy smoke development.
Italy helped the neighboring country on Wednesday with two firefighting planes and two helicopters.
The Karst (Slovenian: Kras) is a high plateau in western Slovenia characterized by forests, meadows, underground rivers and caves.
It is especially popular with hikers.
Summer heat in Spain: temperatures cause over 500 deaths
Update from July 20, 3:17 p.m .:
The heat wave in Europe is causing more and more deaths.
According to the government, hundreds of people have already died in Spain.
As a result of the almost ten-day heat wave, "more than 500 people" died, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Wednesday, citing excess mortality data from a public health institute.
According to preliminary data from the Spanish weather service, the heat wave was also the most intense ever measured in Spain.
It lasted from July 9th to 18th and gave the Spaniards temperatures of over 45 degrees.
At 4.2 degrees, it had the “strongest temperature anomaly” since data collection began in 1975, said Aemet spokeswoman Beatriz Hervella.
The temperature anomaly describes the deviation from average temperature values and illustrates the intensity of heat waves.
According to Hervella, it was also the third longest heat episode in Spain.
Only in 2015 (26 days) and 2003 (16 days) did the country suffer from very high temperatures for longer.
However, the most recent heat wave could still overtake its predecessors.
Although it was declared over on Monday, temperatures have only fallen slightly since then.
The Aemet could therefore explain in retrospect that the heat wave is still ongoing.
Massive fires have broken out across the country since last week because of the exceptionally high temperatures.
A firefighter and a shepherd were killed in the Zamora province.
Major fire near Athens partially under control
Update from July 20, 1:05 p.m .:
The major fire in northeast Athens has now been partially brought under control.
However, the all-clear cannot be given.
"The situation is a little better," said the spokesman for the Greek fire brigade, Ioannis Artopoios, on the Greek news channel Skai.
The emergency services are now trying to "circle" the numerous sources of fire in order to then completely extinguish them, he added.
Numerous fire-fighting aircraft and helicopters are still in use.
Forest fires near Athens: firefighters fight flames with helicopters.
© IMAGO/Sotiris Dimitropoulos / Eurokinissi
Firefighters fight two large forest fires in southern France
Update from July 20, 12:19 p.m .:
The fire brigade has been fighting two large forest fires on the southern French Atlantic coast for more than a week.
The flames continued to spread on Wednesday night, but only by 300 hectares, according to the prefecture responsible for Gironde.
A total of 20,600 hectares of land burned near Landiras and Teste-de-Buch south of Bordeaux.
That is slightly less than the area of the city of Stuttgart.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected on site on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, with strong winds and local drought, fires are also causing problems in other parts of France.
In Brittany, more than 1700 hectares burned in a large forest fire near Brasparts.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the fire.
Extreme heat wave: Forest fires rage across Europe
First report from July 20, 2022:
Athens - The heat wave in Europe never ends.
In many places, temperatures have even reached 40 degrees in the past few days.
The dryness and drought causes numerous forest fires, especially in southern Europe.
Hundreds of people had to be evacuated near the Greek capital Athens because of violent forest fires.
Fighting the fires is particularly difficult due to strong winds blowing from alternating directions, a spokesman for the local fire department said on Wednesday, July 20
Forest fires threaten villages near Athens - fire brigade fights against 117 forest fires in Greece
Around 500 firefighters, 120 fire engines, three airplanes and four helicopters were deployed on the morning of July 20 to prevent the fires that broke out on Tuesday afternoon from spreading to the villages of Penteli, Pallini, Anthousa and Gerakas.
The fire brigade was on duty all over Greece because of 117 forest fires.
The government convened a crisis unit and asked other European countries for support.
In Athens, parts of the ring road around the city were closed to traffic, as the operator announced on the short message service Twitter.
The buildings evacuated as a precaution in the capital region include residential buildings, a children's clinic and the National Observatory in Athens.
According to a report by the television station ERT, there is no information about injuries so far.
According to media reports, an 80-year-old man killed himself out of desperation. "The embers fell from the sky, I've never seen anything like it," said an elderly resident of the suburb of Anthousa on TV station ERT.
In general, we do not report suicides, lest such cases encourage potential imitators. Reporting only takes place if the circumstances receive special public attention. If you or someone you know is suffering from an existential crisis or depression, please contact the telephone counseling service on: 0800-1110111. Help with depression and other psychological emergency situations is also available at www.deutsche-depressionshilfe.de.
Heat wave in Europe: numerous forest fires in Italy - gas tanks exploded
Italy is also badly affected.
In Tuscany, more than 100 firefighters continued to fight a large forest fire near the city of Lucca on Wednesday.
Around 500 residents in the area of the municipality of Massarosa were brought to safety from the flames, the fire brigade said on Wednesday morning.
Video from the night showed the flames raging near a settlement.
Regional President Eugenio Gianin tweeted that some gas tanks had exploded.
Some sides of the fire front would have stretched because of strong winds.
The operation has been running since last Sunday.
Italy, Massarosa: The Italian fire brigade is in action in a forest fire.
According to the Tuscan civil protection, the flames continued to be driven by winds from the northeast overnight.
© Vigili del Fuoco/dpa
On the holiday islands of Sicily and Sardinia, there is an increased, sometimes the highest, forest fire warning level.
The fires often spread quickly because of the drought that has persisted for some time and are fanned by winds.
The fires are often caused by negligent behavior by people or by arson.
The extinguishing work also continued on the Italian-Slovenian border due to a forest fire on Wednesday.
According to the fire department, an area in the municipality of Doberdò, south of Gorizia (Gorizia), was affected.
According to rescue workers, the situation is improving.
Forest fires in Spain: Fires are raging in several parts of the country
View photo gallery
Heat wave in Europe: Not only the south affected - forest fires near London after the hottest day in history
But not only the south is affected, numerous fires are also blazing in Germany.
Partly laid by fire devils, as in Bavaria.
And even England, thought to be cool and rainy, is burning.
At least 16 firefighters were injured fighting fires in London on the hottest day in Britain's history.
Two emergency services were temporarily treated in clinics, the British capital's deputy fire chief, Jonathan Smith, told Times Radio on Wednesday.
The fire brigade worked under unprecedented conditions.
There were more than 1,000 emergency calls, most of them because of the heat.
Smith warned of more fires despite significantly lower temperatures on Wednesday.
The ground is still completely dry.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan spoke of the busiest day for fire services since World War II.
Two major fires in east London in particular caused a stir.
The day before, more than 40 degrees Celsius had been measured in Great Britain for the first time since records began.
(md with dpa/AFP)
