Our Italian neighbors are also struggling with a forest fire on the Adriatic Sea – the clouds of smoke could even be seen from miles away on Friday from the beaches in the northern Italian seaside resort of Bibione, which are popular with Austrians. Nobody has been injured so far. Eight tourists had to be rescued by coastguards after they jumped into the water to escape from the flames.
The conflagration broke out on Friday afternoon on the Austrians’ home beach on the Adriatic. A field and forest near the “Faro” lighthouse had caught fire due to the persistent drought. Several fire brigades from the region went out to extinguish the fire, hundreds of firefighters were deployed. The smoke could even be seen as far as Grado in the evening. A fire-fighting helicopter was also deployed (see video above). Holidaymakers followed the extinguishing work from the beach. The rescue teams cordoned off the area and checked that there were no hikers there. Four fires could still be fought on Friday, the operation continued on Saturday.Tourists rescued by the Coast GuardThe Coast Guard rescued eight people who had jumped into the water to escape the fire and smoke. The flames had come dangerously close to them, not far from the Bibione lighthouse, until the eight tourists were trapped on the shore. So they jumped into the water. Nobody was injured, the hikers are all in good condition, it was said. Possible spontaneous combustion buildings were not affected by the flames, as reported by the President of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia. “We hope that it will not be revoked in the coming hours, but there should be no missing people,” said Deputy Mayor of San Michele al Tagliamento Pierluigi Grosseto. The police are investigating the cause of the fire. According to Grosseto, because of the drought it was possible that spontaneous combustion had occurred. Forest fires also in other parts of Italy In connection with the extreme drought, fire brigades are currently fighting forest and bush fires nationwide in Italy. In the municipality of Gereut (Frassilongo) in Trentino, northern Italy, 90 firefighters, two helicopters and two fire-fighting planes responded to a forest fire in an area of around 70 hectares. Firefighting continued on Saturday. The civil defense warned not to approach the area. The hiking and skiing area is east of Trento. In Tuscany, too, the Lucca fire brigade had to put out fires in a burning olive grove on Friday. Forest and bush fires were also raging in Sicily and Sardinia, and fire-fighting aircraft were used to fight them.
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