Wildfires close Mount Vesuvius trails while fierce blazes continue in France | Wildfires
Tourist trails have been closed in Mont Vesuve in southern Italy while firefighters attack a huge fire on the slopes of the volcano, while the officials warned against another “difficult day” for those who work to contain the largest fire fire in France since 1949.
The forest fire in Vesuvius, near Naples, broke out a few days ago and Saturday afternoon, had extended about 3 km (1.9 thousand) wide, destroying hundreds of hectares of wood and killing wild animals. Thick smoke could be seen from Pompeii and Naples.
Six planes to fight Canadair fire were sent to the state fleet and the teams made up of firefighters, soldiers, forestry, police and civil protection volunteers from all of Italy work on the ground.
Drones were used to monitor the spread of the fire, the national fire services said. The operation was complicated by the last heat wave.
The authorities of the Vesuvius National Park said that the volcano trails network had been closed for security reasons and to facilitate fire -fighting and cleaning operations in affected areas. The Pompeii archaeological park remains open to the public.
The fire mainly affected the Terzigno pine forest as well as the woods near the small towns of Trecase, Ercolano and Ottaviano at the foot of the volcano.
Francesco Ranieri, the mayor of Terzigno, told Italian media that the situation on Saturday evening was “very critical”, although the firefighters’ efforts assured that the flames do not reach any house.
The cause of the fire was not identified, although there are strong suspicions that it was a criminal fire, Ranieri suggesting that there could be “a criminal hand” behind it.
The firefighters of the Southern region of the Aude of France, on the other hand, managed to contain a fire in solid forest, who killed a person and injured several others, although the authorities warned that the work on Sunday would be complicated by intense heat and a warm and dry wind.
“It is a difficult day, since we are probably on a red alert for Heatwave from 6 pm, which will not make things easier,” said Christian Pouget, the prefect of the Department of Aude.
Europe is far from the only one to suffer from frequent forest fires. The weather conditions in which they flourish, marked by heat, drought and strong winds, increase in certain parts of all continents.
The climate breakdown by humans is responsible for a greater probability of fire and larger areas burned in southern Europe, in northern Eurasia, the United States and Australia, with scientific evidence of southern China.
Climate break has increased the forest fire season by about two weeks on average around the world.
