Nine people were rescued from the fire on the Gargano

The Airborne and Naval Operations Unit of the Guardia di Finanza in Bari rescued nine people yesterday, including women and children, in the area affected by the fire that broke out in the locality of Zaiana, in the territory of Peschici, on the Gargano peninsula in the province of Foggia. The Guardia di Finanza's naval vessels collaborated in "evacuation operations for beachgoers caught off guard by the vastness of the flames closing in on the shoreline." During the operations – the officers reported – the crews saved nine people, "recovering two civilians who had accidentally fallen into the sea during the frantic boarding phases onto civilian vessels deployed to support rescue efforts."

Approximately 150 hectares of vegetation, including Mediterranean scrubland and Aleppo pines, were destroyed in the large fire that affected the territory of Peschici on the Gargano yesterday. The initial estimate came from Mayor Luigi D'Arenzo, who confirmed to ANSA that "the fire is now out. The rescue operation, including two Canadair aircraft and a helicopter, is clearing up some small hotspots, but the situation is completely under control. The emergency is over. Everything has returned to normal." "The situation is resolved," the mayor concluded. "This morning the beaches of the Manaccora bay were busy and crowded. Everything was calm."

There is a high risk of wildfires in central and southern Italy starting from July 31. This emerges from forecasts by the European Forest Fire Information System based on data from the EU's Copernicus satellite. Projections based on meteorological models indicate that several areas in Puglia, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Sardinia and parts of Sicily will be particularly vulnerable. From early August, the risk extends to central Italy as well, encompassing Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Abruzzo and Molise.

In the coming days of the week, at the European level, the dark red zones on Copernicus maps cover all of inland Spain, Hungary, Slovakia, parts of western Germany bordering Belgium and Luxembourg (North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate), and especially Greece, while the risk in France appears to be momentarily easing before rising again from early August.

Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA