Fires in Fvg, sixth day: flames extinguished in Pulfero, helicopters in action in Resia. The Alpine troops distribute breakfast to twenty displaced persons

FIRE EMERGENCY, WHAT WE KNOW IN BRIEF

• Sixth day of fires in Friuli Venezia Giulia
• Work is still ongoing in Resia and on the Karst where canadair and helicopters are operating
• Three reception facilities for displaced families on the Karst have been activated: 20 people housed
• The bypass has been activated, but the Val Resia remains in fact still isolated (Here the reportage from Val Resia)
• Temperatures still hot until Monday, a respite from Tuesday (Here the weather forecast)
• Heat and fires worry about fine dust (Harp monitoring municipality by municipality)

The Fvg dal Carso al FriulI fights to put out the fires that destroyed 900 hectares of vegetation. It is the sixth day of incessant work for hundreds of men and women among the Fire Brigade, Civil Protection, Regional Forestry Corps, Forest Fire volunteers, military and police forces. Helicopters and Canadair are also working on the warmer fronts (Resia and Carso). Here are today’s updates

• UPDATE AT 8.30: FIRE UNDER CONTROL

The reclamation of the fire that broke out on Tuesday 19 July on the Karst between Trieste and Gorizia continues unabated. Due to the approaching fire front from Slovenian territory, the hamlets of Gabria and San Michele del Carso in the municipality of Savogna d’Isonzo were evacuated as a precaution late yesterday evening.

Although, thanks to the work of the Slovenian firefighters also helped by the rain that fell during the night, the situation has improved considerably, the return to the two hamlets will be authorized only when the fire that threatened the two hamlets is completely under control. As every morning, the firefighting and air reclamation operations resumed, today involving 2 Canadair of the National Fire Brigade and some regional helicopters. Unchanged, at least until tomorrow morning, the device on the field of the Fire Brigade which sees the presence of men and vehicles from the commands of Gorizia, Pordenone and Trieste.

• THREE RECEPTION STRUCTURES

The Civil Protection has made three reception facilities available for those who have left their homes. I’m:

• SAVOGNA – 50 places at the primary school in via I Maggio
• SAVOGNA – 150 seats in the gym in via I Maggio
• GRADISCA D’ISONZO – 100 seats at the Palazimolo in via San Michele

At the moment, only about twenty people are hosted (the others have found independent accommodation) to whom the Alpine troops have distributed breakfast.

• THE FIRE IN THE NIGHT IN PULFERO

A new fire broke out in the late evening of Saturday 23 July in the municipality of Pulfero. The fire broke out in a field, near the town of Monteosca, and had begun to climb up the mountain, taking the trees. Fortunately, the timely and effective intervention of the firefighters – on site the Cividale staff – made it possible to control the flames in about three hours. The reclamation operations continued until late at night and subsequently a supervision was guaranteed to avoid the re-start of the fire.

• TWO VILLAGES ON THE KARST EVACUATED

On the evening of Saturday 23 July, two villages of the Karst on the Italian side, San Michele and Gabria, in the municipality of Savogna d’Isonzo were evacuated as a precaution: the flames in Slovenia were too close and too dangerous and, with sustained bura wind expected for the night, it was decided not to take risks and proceed with the evacuation to avoid having to do it in the middle of the night. In the evening the appeals and indications of the mayor of Savogna Luca Pisk, who informed the citizens that the municipal gym was available to anyone who could not find hospitality from friends and relatives.

Between Resiutta and Resia the mountain continues to burn, the bypass built in record time by the Civil Protection is accessible, but can only be used for emergencies. The valley remains isolated. The fire extends over about 80 hectares and despite the deployment of forces and means that allows the flames to be contained, the situation is critical. On the evening of Saturday 23 July, however, the rain arrived. «For safety reasons, the alternative roads cannot be used except by escorted vehicles according to the indications that will be managed by the Municipality. We still see dangerous situations and, therefore, we must avoid encountering dangers that objectively exist ».

The Resia forest in flames: images from above

The vice-president with responsibility for Civil Protection, Riccardo Riccardi, on Saturday 23 July personally verified the viability of the bypass, but after discussing with the technicians and the two mayors of Resia and Resiutta, Anna Micelli and Francesco Nesich, he avoided opening it to traffic as he would have liked

• WEATHER: HOT TORRID UNTIL MONDAY

For the rain, the real one, which will bring temperatures down at least for a few hours, we will have to wait for Tuesday 26 July, but even in that case the respite will be short and on Wednesday the highs in the plains will return to rise with peaks of up to 35 degrees.

On Sunday and Monday, however, Friuli remains in the grip of the African anticyclone that some sites have baptized “Apocalypse4800” to remember the freezing point reached once again on Mont Blanc (4,809 meters high) and peaks of up to 37 degrees are expected in the plains.

• FIRE AND AFA, THE SITUATION OF FINE DUST IN FRIULI

ARPA has expanded the particulate monitoring area by carrying out measurements in the locations considered most at risk with the optical particle counter which is able to detect the presence of particles with a diameter of less than 1 micrometer. In that case, a concentration higher than 1000 per liter is considered as the reference threshold in the event of a fire. Here all the data municipality by municipality

Men and women of the Civil Protection, Fire Brigade, Forestry, volunteers and police forces worked on six sides with dozens of vehicles: not only in Resia and on the Karst between Italy and Slovenia, but also in Pulfero and Pontebba ( here yesterday morning a fire broke out on the side of Mount Cervo) and, again, in Medeazza, in the Municipality of Duino Aurisina, and in Iamiano, in Doberdò. Here now the situation is under control, but there are still teams at work. “It would take a whole night of rain, but it seems that we will have to wait until Tuesday,” says the mayor of Duino Aurisina Igor Gabrovec “.