Fires ravage Italy’s Mediterranean island of Sardinia, forcing evacuations
- Firefighters said several homes were damaged and authorities said a survey indicates 10,000 acres have been consumed by flames
- Christian Solinas, president of the Sardinia region, described the fires as ‘a disaster without precedent’
Fires raged Sunday on Italy’s Mediterranean island of Sardinia, where nearly 400 people were evacuated overnight. No deaths or injuries have been reported.
Firefighters said several homes were damaged in the island’s western interior region. Civil protection authorities said a preliminary survey indicates 10,000 acres have been consumed by flames around Montiferru, near the centre of the Italy’s second-largest island.
Authorities evacuated 200 people from the town of Cuglieri overnight and another 155 from Sennariolo, where flames, according to the mayor, still had not reached residential areas. More than half of those evacuated in Cuglieri were allowed to return home on Sunday, the news agency ANSA reported.
Eleven aircraft were working to put out the flames, the head of the island’s civil protection agency, Antonio Belloi, told ANSA.
Efforts to put out the fires were being hampered by hot southwesterly winds, putting the fire danger level at “extreme.”
Italy on Sunday asked European states to send firefighting aircraft to help tame the fires.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Facebook the country’s civil protection authority had issued the request and said he was grateful for help that was already being sent.
“Two (aircraft) are on their way from France, which I officially thank,” Di Maio said.
Christian Solinas, president of the Sardinia region, described the fires as “a disaster without precedent”.
