As of: March 12, 2024, 12:25 p.m
By: Johannes Welte
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Holiday destination Sicily is on fire again: 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.
Trapani – The holiday island of Sicily in the very south of Italy is a paradise for holidaymakers.
Even in the winter months you can still soak up the sun here.
Places like Taormina are famous for their beaches and panoramic views of Mount Vesuvius.
Last year, an unprecedented series of forest fires caused irreparable damage to vegetation.
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.
Land speculators who want to build hotels in nature reserves are blamed for the fires.
Flames blaze into the sky: a forest fire has broken out in western Sicily.
© Antonio Monaco/Facebook
Forest fire rages in Sicily – flames flare up in the middle of the holiday paradise
Spring had barely begun when another huge forest fire broke out in the west of the island.
Between the two idyllic holiday resorts of Castellamare del Golfo and San Vito lo Capo, the entire Inici mountain suddenly burst into flames late on Saturday afternoon.
A Scirocco storm blowing in from the Sahara fueled the fire.
The mountain is a popular hiking destination and from it you can overlook the cliffs in the Gulf of Castellamare.
“Due to the strong wind and the impossibility of reaching the scene in the evening hours, the fire grew larger and larger,” writes
meteoweb.eu
.
“As a result, Monte Inici, the mountain that overlooks the city, was tragically lit throughout the night by high flames that broke out on several fronts.” Firefighting aircraft could not be deployed due to the Scirocco wind gusts of up to 100 km/h become.
Strong Scirocco winds fan flames in Sicily
“Several teams from the fire department, including those from neighboring provinces, and the forestry department worked throughout the night and throughout today,” said a statement from Trapani Prefecture.
Civil protection teams and police warned residents of the region about the dangers of the fire.
A restaurant was evacuated overnight as a precaution.
The fire brigade finally managed to put out the flames during the night.
By dawn the fire was contained.
350 hectares of forest were destroyed.
Mayor: “A hellish fire that causes incurable wounds”
“A hellish fire that causes incurable wounds and incalculable environmental and economic damage in our territory,” writes Mayor of Castellamare del Golfo
,
Giuseppe Fausto on Facebook.
Last year, bathers had to be evacuated across the sea due to a forest fire in the community.
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Fausto suspects that the flames are “more malevolent
“Nature” were.
This means that there is a risk of arson in the town hall.
The environmental organization Fenice Verde is clearer: “One of the most fascinating mountains in the province of Trapani has now been reduced to ash,” the organization writes in a Facebook post.
“There is suspicion that this environmental disaster is linked to irresponsible asparagus harvesting practices.”
Environmentalists have terrible suspicions
It is the practice of some farmers to burn the dried herbs that grew the previous year over the asparagus fields in the spring in order to more easily get to the asparagus sprouts that will soon sprout again and to fertilize them with the ash.
“The practice of burning surface vegetation on the ground where asparagus grows is wrong, it irreversibly harms the surrounding ecosystem,” the post continues.
Last year, Monte Sparacio, once famous for its abundance of asparagus, burned down three times in the neighborhood of Monte Inici.
“It has now degenerated into a burnt area that is no longer fertile,” said Fenice Verde.
Actually, the forest fire season had not stopped at all, even in the winter, when the usual rainfall did not occur.
At the end of February there were fires near Messina in the northeast and Palermo in the north, at the end of February at Etna in the east, and in January and December flames blazed in the west of the island.
"Here we go again.
Is it possible to live with people capable of such nonsense?” asked the mayor of Rometta, Nicola Merlino.