Sardinia, and in particular the province of Oristano, has been burning for 60 hours now, and the Fire Brigade's operations continue without pause: 60 ground units are currently active, with air support from 5 Canadairs and a helicopter from the national corps' air fleet. The Presidency of the Council of Ministers has also activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism, which has resulted in a further 4 aircraft arriving to assist from Greece and France.

Vigili del Fuoco @vigilidelfuoco

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#Incendi #Sardegna, senza pause l'attività dei #vigilidelfuoco nella provincia di #Oristano: operative 60 unità a terra, col supporto aereo di 5 #canadair. Meccanismo Europeo #protezionecivile attivato da @DPCgov: inviati 4 velivoli da Grecia e Francia #26luglio

♥ 731💬 29 26 lug 2021 · Apri su X →

A race against time

The vast forest fire started in the territory of the municipality of Bonarcado and, fanned by strong winds, spread to Cuglieri, where last night 40 people were evacuated from a care home threatened by the flames, and to the town of Santu Lussurgiu, where 60 families were moved from their homes as a precautionary measure.

Hundreds of men and women, some from France and Greece, are fighting the fire with the help of dozens of aircraft. © Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images

Sixty Fire Brigade units are in action to extinguish the fire in the Oristano area ©Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images

The wind continues to blow and spread the flames; rain is hoped for ©Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images

Extensive damage to property, including cars, homes and farm vehicles ©Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images

The fire is also causing a mass death of animals: here, a small and unfortunate fox ©Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images

Around 1,500 people have had to temporarily leave their homes ©Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images

The effort of rescue workers for one of the most severe fires in recent years ©Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images

It will take 15 years to repair the damage caused by the flames, according to Coldiretti estimates ©Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images

In Tresnuraghes, three teams worked through the night to combat the fire front, and their efforts made it possible to protect two hospitality businesses from the flames. In Scano di Montiferro, overnight work by the teams brought the fire front under control; the previous day it had caused the evacuation of over 400 people. In total, 1,500 people have been displaced.

Sécurité Civile ✓ @SecCivileFrance

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🇮🇹🤝🇫🇷 #FeuxdeForêt Dans le cadre du Mécanisme de protection civile de l’Union, deux #Canadair sont partis en #Sardaigne ce matin pour lutter contre les flammes aux côtés des pompiers et moyens aériens italiens.
#MPCU🇪🇺

♥ 864💬 43 26 lug 2021 · Apri su X →

The Regional Council of Sardinia declared a state of emergency yesterday, and minister for Agricultural Policy Stefano Patuanelli and Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese this morning announced "extraordinary and urgent measures" on the part of the government.

Il Viminale ✓ @Viminale

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#Sardegna: il ministro #Lamorgese vicino alle famiglie colpite dagli #incendi boschivi. «Non faremo mancare il doveroso sostegno per superare la devastazione. Grande impegno di tutte le componenti del sistema di protezione civile».
#26luglio

📰➡️interno.gov.it/it/node/29836

♥ 93💬 8 26 lug 2021 · Apri su X →

Incalculable damage to agriculture and woodland heritage

The situation is indeed particularly serious from a naturalistic standpoint, but above all from an agricultural one: 20,000 hectares of land have already been burned in the Oristano area alone, according to estimates from sector associations such as the confederation of Italian farmers and Coldiretti: these represent, explains the president of Cia Sardegna Francesco Erbì, "thousands of hectares of priceless woodland heritage and Mediterranean scrubland gone up in smoke, residential areas surrounded by flames and farmland destroyed with sheds and agricultural structures burned and heavy losses among crops and livestock", as well as fodder stocks and farm vehicles that have been destroyed.

Damage to the ecosystem that, according to Coldiretti monitoring, will require at least 15 years to be repaired: and all this under the optimistic assumption that the increasingly scorching summers to come will not bring further, ever more severe fires.

L'Unione Sarda @UnioneSarda

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#Sardegna - I roghi nell'Isola, Coldiretti: “Persi bestiame, fienili e pascoli”
unionesarda.it/economia/i-rog…

♥ 3 26 lug 2021 · Apri su X →

Since mid-June alone, the Fire Brigade has carried out 29,187 interventions for forest and vegetation fires in general, 12,787 more than in the same period of 2020. The national corps' air fleet, made up of 15 Canadairs and 8 helicopters deployed for forest firefighting, has so far completed 891 missions, 3,856 flight hours and 20,891 drops of fire-retardant substances. 7,169 interventions in Puglia, 6,790 in Sicily and 2,964 in Calabria: these are the regions hardest hit by fires so far.

Solidarity initiatives

Meanwhile in Sardinia, a number of fundraising initiatives have already been launched to address the emergency. The first is organised by the Associazione Sardegna in Tuscia, which brings together Sardinian citizens who have relocated to the mainland and work to keep Sardinian culture and traditions alive in the Viterbo Tuscia area. Donations can be made using the Iban IT36X 14503 00002 10430 13 with the reference "Emergenza incendi in Sardegna".

Another fundraiser has been launched by the animal shelter organisation "Gli amici pelosetti di Michela", which explains on gofundme: "We decided to open this fundraiser not for our association, but to help the volunteers and the people who have lost everything as a result of this fire." The Iban is IT11U0306909606100000179287 in the name of gli amici di Tomy e Romy.