Ossola: two wildfires out of control as crews defend houses

The two wildfires burning in the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, at Piedimulera and Calasca Castiglione, are currently not under control. The priority for emergency crews is protecting homes. Ground teams are stationed at houses and mountain huts, ready to act if the flames come closer.

At Calasca Castiglione a first estimate puts the burned woodland at at least a hundred hectares. For the Piedimulera fire the figure is harder to establish, because the front is still spreading. The fire is expanding westwards, towards the Castiglione blaze, although the two remain some distance apart for now. A second front is advancing north towards Pallanzeno, where in recent hours the flames had moved down the slope and approached houses.

Resources on the ground and in the air

On Thursday two Canadair aircraft and two helicopters are deployed. On the ground, alongside provincial command personnel, eight teams from other provinces of Piedmont and from Lombardy are working with tankers and smaller vehicles suited to mountain roads.

At 6 p.m. a mass was held in the village church to pray for rain and for the protection of the crews fighting the fire.

The rain being hoped for carries a further risk. On slopes swept by fire, with vegetation burned away and soil made impermeable by the heat, heavy rainfall can trigger debris flows and landslides. In 2005 the area already suffered damage of that kind, reaching as far as the provincial road.

The Ossola fires are burning in the same alpine belt as Ticino and under the same conditions of prolonged drought. In recent weeks the canton has dealt with forest fires in the Locarno region, including those at Lavertezzo and on Monte Tor, which were also brought under control with helicopter support.