Forest fire in Friuli, health alert in 17 municipalities and aid from Carinthia

The arrival of helicopters from Carinthia

The regional government of Carinthia has announced its direct participation in the intervention with helicopters engaged in collecting water from Lake Weissensee, a basin located south of the Alpine chain and usually used as a strategic water reserve for firefighting operations. The aircraft are making repeated rotations to supply the aerial assets deployed on the fire front.

Carinthia's Landeshauptmann Daniel Fellner described the action as part of a consolidated tradition of cooperation between the bordering regions. The official reference to Carinthia as a "region" indicates the overall institutional involvement of the Austrian Land, in coordination with civil protection.

Cross-border cooperation cited by Fellner

Carinthian authorities stressed their willingness to maintain the deployment as long as Friuli considers it necessary, with water collection set to continue in the coming hours. Fellner invoked cross-border collaboration as a structural element of the emergency response.

Residents of the 17 municipalities affected by the health alert are urged to follow updates issued by the municipalities and the relevant local health authorities, avoiding prolonged physical exertion and keeping windows closed during the hours of highest smoke concentration. The most vulnerable people are asked to limit non-essential outings.

Health recommendations for residents

On the logistics front, water supply points have been set up near the operational areas, in order to reduce helicopter refilling times. The main supply corridor runs from the Weissensee basin, where a Carinthian technical team constantly monitors the lake's levels.

The evolution of the fire remains conditioned by wind and temperature: authorities urge people to consider reliable only the information disseminated through institutional channels, avoiding the circulation of unverified images or news from social networks.

In recent days, Friuli had already faced other forest outbreaks, aggravated by a prolonged absence of rainfall. The occurrence of multiple fires has put regional firefighting systems under pressure and prompted the request for help from neighboring Carinthia, giving rise to a coordinated, cross-border deployment.