Heavy Rain Slows Wildfire in the Province of Udine – Situation in Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Parallel to the firefighting operations in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, emergency services in other parts of Italy battled further forest fires. In the L'Aquila region, in central Italy, a fire broke out on Monday afternoon in Montereale in the central Italian province of L'Aquila after a lightning strike, as firefighters reported. "Am Montagnachmittag war nach einem Blitzeinschlag zudem ein Feuer in Montereale in der mittelitalienischen Provinz L'Aquila ausgebrochen.", the command center said.

Further Fires in Italy

In the northwestern Italian region of Piedmont as well, the fire brigade was not idle. In the province of Alessandria and in the area around Roverno, several hundred hectares of forest were ablaze over the weekend. Emergency services there expressed cautious initial optimism, as wind conditions on Monday turned out more favorable than feared. Nevertheless, the situation remained tense, because dry soils favor a reignition of the fire.

In Udine itself, attention focused on protecting the surrounding villages. Several localities had temporarily had to be warned in the preceding days because of falling embers and dense clouds of smoke. On Monday, most of these warnings could be lifted after visibility improved again and smoke levels in the valleys dropped. The authorities nevertheless asked residents to continue to take the instructions seriously.

The weather forecasts for the coming days were cautiously positive from the perspective of the emergency services. Further showers and thunderstorms were expected, which could additionally facilitate the firefighters' work. At the same time, meteorologists warned that local heavy rainfall in already burned-out slopes could also bring new risks such as mudslides. The emergency services therefore also kept an eye on the risk of landslides.

Emergency Services and Weather Situation

The term wildfire area encompassed several fronts in recent days, which spread through the Carnic and Julian Alps. For the firefighting operations, firefighting aircraft and helicopters were deployed, among others, taking on water from nearby reservoirs. On the ground, regional units as well as volunteer fire brigades from neighboring provinces supported the firefighting efforts.

In the evening, the command center in Udine reported that the overall fire area had not grown any further. They now wanted to use the favorable weather conditions to create targeted firebreaks in the affected forest sections. A final all-clear was still premature, it was said. The authorities expect that mop-up operations will continue for several more days.

The provinces of Alessandria, L'Aquila, and Udine on Monday showed the full spectrum of the Italian forest fire season: While the north and northeast finally received rain, emergency services in central and northwestern Italy had to continue fighting individual fire fronts. Interregional firefighting assistance, the authorities said, remained welcome.

Appeal to the Population

For the coming days, the command centers announced that they would inform the affected municipalities in Udine as well as in Alessandria and Roverno about further developments. The municipality of Pissebu, which also counts among the operational areas, should also remain in contact with the population. The goal is to bring the fires fully under control before the next heatwave reaches the country.

Nationwide, the authorities once again called on the population not to light open fires in forested areas and to dispose of cigarette ends carefully. Most fires this season were attributable to human behavior or lightning strikes, according to investigators. Prevention remains the most effective protection against future major incidents, the command center emphasized.