“Here I am at the end of a day of fire that started very early and here it is almost 8 pm immediately after the counter-fire action of the GAUF of the Forestry Corps, an action that stopped the flames just before they reached the town of Orotelli”. This is how Franco Casula's post begins, which has gone viral on social media. The forester posts a photo of the end of the work and writes: “You will read many thanks and much gratitude in the comments. I repeat what I wrote there, the best recognition that Sardinia can show for these actions is to recruit staff at CFVA and Forestas. We really have a crying need for staff. Share it again.”
“Great people, only those who intervene for hours or days to try to limit the damage by directly touching the despair of people can understand the will and the fatigue resulting from an intervention on a fire”, is one of the many comments on the photo. Meanwhile, the fires continue on the island. Today, a fire is ravaging the cork plantations and the agricultural lands of the Pozzomaggiore area, in the north of Sardinia. The flames broke out last night and, late in the night, the fire seemed to have been extinguished. This morning, some fires, fueled by the strong mistral wind, rekindled the fire, forcing the forestry corps, the barracelli of Pozzomaggiore, Bonorva and Semestene and the firefighters to work overtime. In the early afternoon, the regional civil protection dispatched two Canadairs based in Olbia and a Super Puma helicopter taking off from Fenosu (Oristano). The mayor of Pozzomaggiore, Mariano Soro, has been convening the Coc civil protection since the first outbreaks and is monitoring the development of the situation. This is just one of 30 fires that have hit the island in the last 48 hours.
Councilor Laconi after the 30 fires: “Impossible for the moment to count the damage”
“The Sardinia Region's firefighting machine responds to all fire calls but the situation in recent days is very critical. However, it is still impossible to assess the damage because we are still working on the ground and the only data, still to be certified, are those of the Orotelli fire (in the Nuoro area, editor's note) on about 400 hectares of “The territory has gone up in smoke”, the regional councilor for the Environment Rosanna Laconi told ANSA, referring to estimates released early in the afternoon and after about thirty fires broke out yesterday across the island. “The entire regional fleet was focused on the fires, otherwise we would have had even worse situations – he adds – a big helping hand then comes from the national fleet: more and more Canadairs arrive every day. In addition, a big effort is also being made by the teams on the ground. Of course – he observes – there is a need for reinforcement and we are working on hiring in the regional forestry body and in the Forestas Agency”.
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