There is tension among the people of I was shocked And Plains which for 24 hours was surrounded by a fire of unimaginable proportions. There is anger because, people explain, “what happened is the result of an incredible series of errors and delays”.
In reality, the issue of delays had been vigorously raised since the early evening of Wednesday, when the flames were high and dangerous and residents of the surrounding areas explained that they had alerted the emergency services starting from lunchtime even though there was no no drastic interventions until very late afternoon.
Before entering the minefield of controversies and delays, real or presumed, it is necessary to talk about yesterday morning when, starting from dawn, the emergency vehicles returned to the air for the firefighting. In reality, throughout the night the firefighters had kept the flames at bay from below, guaranteeing the safety of people and the protection of homes, without any damage to people or things. However, the flames could not be put out from below. So there was a need for the return of light, and of aircraft (two helicopters and a Canadair) who filled the water tanks without stopping until the early afternoon when the fire was finally put out.
It was also necessary to concentrate on the front of the hill overlooking Pianura, because the flames, uncontrolled, climbed over the ridge during the night and also settled on the western slope of the Camaldoli. While the flames were going out in Pianura, a new alarm came from the Soccavo front: in mid-morning two tongues of fire joined together and began to rapidly descend towards the town behind Via Epomeo: in this case too the interventions were decisive from above who put out the flames before they became dangerous.
The prefect Michele of Bari, after having been to the Camaldoli during the night, yesterday he explained «we first and foremost need to protect people’s health and safety. With the police forces, we separated the fire area from the town. Since this morning (yesterday for those reading ed.), then, air vehicles have been operating in the affected area, as well as eight fire brigade teams and volunteers. I thank the Region, the Municipality and above all the firefighters: the response being given is the most adequate possible.”
Yesterday morning, after having thanked the firefighters, civil protection and law enforcement for having protected the Neapolitans from the flames, the mayor Manfredi he told the Ansa agency “I spoke to the commander of the fire brigade, because the fire started on Tuesday at lunchtime and he told me that there were no more important air vehicles available in the afternoon”. The mayor’s words generated a parliamentary question from the AVS deputy, Francesco Emilio Borrelliand a piqued response from the Undersecretary of the Interior, Emanuele Prisco, who clarified: «No delays. The national resources were activated as soon as the issue of the high voltage cables in the area was resolved. These are incomprehensible controversies.”
When the flames were completely put out Manfredi breathed a sigh of relief: «The situation is under control. The fire was practically extinguished. The area is being reclaimed. It was a complicated moment, but fortunately everything was overcome thanks to the great commitment of the firefighters, the institutions and the Prefecture. It was a complicated night, but all the people were made safe.”
On the management of the Camaldoli area, the president of the Environment commission of the city council, Carlo Migliaccio, launched accusations «it is an area totally abandoned by the Region which should be responsible for guaranteeing the fire spotting service». The municipal councilor for greenery, Enzo Santagada, remained in the Camaldoli until the last outbreak was extinguished: «Just fifteen days ago we had a first meeting with the bodies involved to prepare an operational plan for the protection and recovery of that area. The next meeting will be in six days, it was supposed to be used to present proposals. We will use it to study a way to recover the hill as soon as possible.”
There is also tension on the fire alert front. There Campania region at the beginning of June, after receiving a worrying bulletin from the multi-risk functional center of the national Civil Protection which feared worrying increases in temperatures in Campania, it issued the annual decree on the «state of serious danger due to forest fires», setting the dates of alert «starting from June 15th and until 15 October 2024″. On the basis of that decree, each mayor should have issued an ordinance with local directives (ban on lighting fires, ban on storing dry and flame-susceptible material, etc.). In Naples, however, the ordinance with the procedures for fighting fires “starting from June 15th” was signed only on June 19th, that is, at the exact moment in which the flames broke out on the Camaldoli hill.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Read the full article at
The morning
