A massive fire in Selargius has engulfed 100 hectares of land. The mayor calls it "an environmental disaster."
Homes and farms were threatened, and five helicopters and a Canadair were deployed. Concu: "Fortunately, we don't have to mourn any casualties." Six evacuees have returned home.Video di Gianluigi Deidda
The flames started at the end of the morning in the Baccu Lau area, and then quickly reached the Sa Sitzia area, close to the 554, thanks to the wind, but also the undergrowth and piles of rubbish scattered between roads and agricultural land.
The high flames engulfed everything, threatening homes and farms beyond the 554, with some elderly people forced to leave their homes. Access to the 387 and the provincial road was also closed to traffic for hours. A total of six people were evacuated from their homes as a precaution, and have since been returned to their homes. No injuries have been reported so far.
On site—along with firefighters, several Civil Protection teams, five helicopters, and a Canadair —were also the mayor of Selargius, Gigi Concu, and the mayor of Monserrato, Tomaso Locci.
"An environmental disaster that we once again witnessed almost helplessly, and which could have had far more serious consequences. We lost approximately 100 hectares of farmland, burned by flames fanned by strong winds, but fortunately we don't find ourselves mourning the loss of people and animals, because the proximity of homes and power lines put everyone on high alert."
The mayor thanks "the firefighters, civil protection, forestry, carabinieri, police, our local police, the Barracelli, the ANAS (National Road Safety Authority), and all the personnel working in our countryside and now in the areas where the flames have spread, hectares of land consumed by the flames, pieces of a story that strikes at the heart of our island every summer."
