Italy: decrease of fires in the south of the country
(AFP) - 1 day ago
ROME - The fires that have killed two people in recent days and burned thousands of hectares in southern Italy were down sharply on Sunday morning, according to Civil Protection.
"Since 06:00 am (04:00 GMT), we have had eight requests for intervention for disasters in the south, against quarantine for the entire day of Saturday," said Civil Protection in Rome.
Fires were underway in the south of the country (Sardinia, Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata), according to the same source.
At the beginning of the evening, Saturday, about twenty fires were still active.
Between 15.000 and 25.000 hectares have gone up in smoke and the damage is estimated at around 80 million euros on the island of Sardinia, the most affected region, according to a first estimate.
The prosecutor's office in Sassari (north-west of the island), where two people died last Thursday, opened an investigation for "arson", according to the Ansa agency.
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