Heavy rainfall and easing winds have temporarily slowed a wildfire that has burned for more than 10 days on Monte Amariana in northern Italy's Friuli region, helping crews hold the fire line though the blaze remains active.
The fires, which began on 7 August after a lightning strike near Amaro, have scorched an estimated 450 hectares of forest across Friuli, with 100 hectares in Amaro alone. Flavio Cimenti said flames have reached 100 metres in height on the Carnia mountains. Residents of Pissebus, a hamlet of Tolmezzo, were evacuated as fire approached within 50 metres of homes.
About 35 firefighters backed by two Civil Protection helicopters and a water-bombing aircraft are battling the blaze, joined by Slovenian crews under a cross-border agreement. Officials say 30 to 40 millimetres of rain are needed to bring the fire under full control. The regional government declared a drought emergency and allocated 1.12 million euros after July rainfall fell up to 60 percent below historical averages.