The situation is under control and the dreaded mistral has not arrived, but there is still fire
ORISTANO. An unprecedented disaster. This is how the gigantic fire that has been devastating the Montiferru, in the Oristano area for almost three days, has been defined, reducing over 20 thousand hectares of territory to ashes, destroying companies and making thousands of people forced to leave their homes live in terror. besieged by flames. The fire that broke out in Bonarcado on 23 July never loosened its grip on the territory, moving for about 50 kilometers driven by the sirocco wind and high temperatures, forcing Civil Protection, Forestry Corps, Firefighters and volunteers to fight day and night. All the helicopters of the regional fleet and the Canadair of the national one to help the ground crew But not only. Already early today, July 26, the Canadair of the European Union arrived to give support to the fire-fighting machine, two from France and two from Greece. An impressive deployment of forces that served to stem some fronts of the fire and begin to reclaim the various areas.
In particular, two fronts remained active all day and will also be monitored in the next few hours: the fire in Santu Lussurgiu, initially under control, but which, due to the wind, regained strength where they operated for almost the whole day, alongside the helicopters of the Sardinia, two Canadair of the national fleet and the two French. And the fire in Suni, where four other Canadair remain in action, two of which came from Greece. In the last few hours the situation seems to be under control, even if water bombs from Canadair and helicopters continue to be launched over the areas and the work of the ground crews continues. The climatic situation also bodes well, there were no very high temperatures and the feared mistral wind that would have given new vigor to the flames, at the moment, has not entered, but the situation is constantly monitored.
Almost all of the 1,500 displaced from Cuglieri, Santu Lussurgiu, Porto Alabe, Sennariolo and other centers touched by the flames have returned home. Many of them have started the damage count. «The community and the territory have suffered an immense tragedy, an unprecedented disaster. The fire – said the mayor of Cuglieri, Gianni Panichi – arrived in our town within a few hours, it crossed the Montiferru and reached the houses of the town on several fronts. We have to get up and go on, we have lost everything but not the stubbornness and willpower to react and return to beauty and serenity. The damage is immense – he reiterated – the Montiferru, the flora and fauna are lost, the valley of the olive trees, the millenary olive tree no longer exist. Whole farms destroyed, animals burned, many have lost everything ».
“It is difficult to find adequate words with respect to the brutality of a tragedy of this size, but the State exists and no one will be left alone,” said the prefect of Oristano Fabrizio Stelo, who today visited the areas devastated by the flames. . And to help the affected communities, private citizens and associations have already arrived with some fundraisers, but also the entire Diocese of Alghero-Bosa which has opened a fund, called “Emergency Fire Montiferru”, to collect economic aid and which will start with a contribution of 50,000 euros from the Diocese. And the Coldiretti solidarity machine has already started. (Handle).