Identifying and Containing Wildfire in Pantelleria National Park

 The impeccable surveillance activity carried out by the Forest Carabinieri in the "Isola di Pantelleria" National Park has once again demonstrated their commitment to enforcing regulations and protecting the island's precious natural heritage.

Recently, during special territorial control services coordinated by the CC P.N. Aspromonte Unit of Reggio Calabria, the Forest Carabinieri were informed about a Mediterranean vegetation fire in the district of "Rekhale," along Via Nikà in the municipality of Pantelleria. They promptly arrived at the scene and assessed the extent of the fire, which required the intervention of the firefighting teams from the Sicilian Region, with firefighting trucks, and the Sicilian Regional Forest Corps, with the assistance of a Canadair aircraft.

While the firefighting operations were underway, the Forest Carabinieri initiated a meticulous investigative activity using the Physical Evidence Method (PEM), which led to the identification of the ignition point of the fire within private property. The evidence gathered allowed for the referral of an unblemished 68-year-old agricultural laborer, held responsible for the fire due to careless burning of plant material that had escaped his control, to the competent Judicial Authority.

The fire devastated approximately 3 hectares of uncultivated land and Mediterranean vegetation, but thanks to the effective intervention of the Forest Carabinieri, the damage was limited, and the responsible individual was identified.