Videos appeared on social media showing flames approaching cafes and thick clouds of smoke spreading through the streets. A helicopter and firefighting plane were dispatched to assist crews working to extinguish the flames raging on the ground.
The fire is destroying homes and blocking traffic on State Road 16. Ten acres of pine forest in Vesuvius Park turned to smoke.
Devastating wildfires have been raging in southern Italy for days, and there are growing fears of an impending heat wave of 45 degrees next week. A scorching heat wave is forecast for the coming days, which could increase the danger of more wildfires.
“The temperatures that await us in the coming days require the utmost attention,” Fabrizio Curcio, head of the civil defense agency, said Sunday.
He called efforts to contain the numerous wildfires in the south “difficult” and “dramatic.”
Temperatures could reach 45C in Sicily and Sardinia on Tuesday and Wednesday.
There are also warnings of damage to agriculture from the ongoing drought, and the country’s natural reserves have suffered incalculable damage.
Since June 15, 44,500 wildfires have been reported, the most in this period in four years, almost double the 26,00 wildfires reported last year.
