Sicily Battles Wildfires: 62,561 Hectares Scorched, €60 Million in Damages

 Sicily is grappling with a devastating summer of wildfires, with a staggering 62,561 hectares of land consumed and an estimated €60 million in damages. Unfortunately, this has propelled Sicily to the top spot in Italy for wildfires. In July alone, Legambiente estimates that 41,365 hectares were razed in Sicily, surpassing the national total of 51,386 hectares. From San Vito to Castellammare, Erice to Scopello, and all the way to Monte Bonifato, numerous locations in the province of Trapani have been engulfed in flames.

As per the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis), the island is witnessing one of the worst wildfire seasons in recent years. In Palermo alone, a record-breaking 4,314 hectares have been consumed, representing nearly 3% of the municipal territory. The fires in Palermo have claimed five lives and caused extensive devastation to barns, stables, homes, vehicles, power and phone lines, as well as forests, meadows, and cultivated fields.

According to Legambiente Sicilia, the wildfire situation has "completely spiraled out of control" and the recurring causes remain the same: "chronic delays in territory control and management for prevention, inefficient and sluggish firefighting efforts, and failure to identify the culprits." Legambiente emphasizes that these numbers confirm the severity of this environmental and economic catastrophe, increasingly resulting in loss of human life. Yet, the number of arsonists arrested and convicted remains insignificant.

Vanessa Rosano, director of Legambiente Sicilia, asserts, "All administrations, in various capacities, are proving incapable of combating the flames on the island. To attempt to reverse this trend, radical measures are necessary, applying existing regulations but also contemplating new instruments. Politics cannot evade its responsibilities."

As part of the "Sicilia Messa a Fuoco" (Sicily Set Ablaze) campaign, a series of public awareness events are being promoted between yesterday and today, October 8th.

Legambiente has put forward documents for analysis and proposal. The association suggests biodiversity awareness campaigns and the ongoing commissioning activity by the Region aimed at municipalities failing to compile the wildfire cadastre. They also call for inspections to verify if the fire-ravaged lands have been used to claim EU contributions in the zootechnical and forestry sectors. Legambiente further advocates for a year-round ban on open field burning, starting from stubble and fallow fields. They propose extending the prohibition of grazing and hunting for ten years in all areas with natural and agricultural vegetation affected by fire (currently limited to forests). Sustainable forest management plans, social control, and territorial monitoring are among the other initiatives Legambiente urges the institutions to take.

The primary cause of these fires is the eradication of weeds from pastures through fire, and the use of fire to clear land for subsequent cultivation. Another cause is extortion: fires are set to force payment of unwanted protection fees, known as 'pizzo', or to profit from insurance claims. Despite calls from many politicians for stricter measures against arsonists, all studies and investigations commissioned on the phenomenon of fires in southern regions have clarified that the impact of arson is negligible.

Recently, President Renato Schifani of the Region met with Assessor Pagana and officials from the Department to outline new prevention and counteraction actions. They discussed strategies to strengthen fire prevention and control efforts. A plan was devised to utilize structural funds to acquire new firefighting vehicles, including heavy-duty ones. The possibility of acquiring new helicopters with greater fire retardant capacity was also explored. Sanctions against municipalities failing to monitor private individuals for land clearing were discussed. Additionally, the government intends to extend the duration of the fire prevention campaign for the next year, starting it earlier. The president will update on these measures in the coming week.

Sicily's firefighting vehicles are aging and increasingly ineffective. The most recent vehicles in the Forest Service fleet were registered 15 years ago. In 2021, former President Musumeci, now Minister of Civil Protection, had organized a tender to purchase 126 new firefighting trucks. However, only 18 of these vehicles have been delivered. One firefighting vehicle with a 10,000-liter water capacity remains idle in a Forest Service parking lot in Palermo, and there are about 490 kits with personal protective equipment for forest rangers purchased in June stored in warehouses.

Schifani is considering a new tender for the purchase of additional new vehicles and two state-of-the-art helicopters with greater fire retardant capacity. In Italy, only Sardinia is equipped with a similar vehicle, called the Super Puma, which costs over €25 million. The only real prevention action concerns recalling municipalities that fail to monitor their territory. Poor land cleaning and the removal of plastic and tires, which is obligatory according to a regional ordinance, are among the reasons the fires have been so extensive. Currently, only a few municipalities strictly enforce land and forest cleaning by private individuals.