Fires even in Italy burn tents on the beach

Firefighters in Italy said on Saturday they are fighting fires for the second consecutive day in Sicily. The flames have reached the town of Catania, forcing people to flee their homes, while an airport was temporarily closed.

Firefighters said they have conducted 250 operations in Sicily over the past 24 hours, 50 of them only in Catania. The famous city for its baroque architecture is located near Mount Etna, on the eastern part of the island of Sicily.

Fires in Catania reached the coast, destroying the holiday centre “La Capana”, where umbrellas and burnt beds were seen, writes Reuters.

With temperatures up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit [40 ° C], the warm wind has spread the flames to other parts of the island. Fires have also erupted in the province of Palermo, causing ash to fall into the city.

Earlier there were fires in other parts of Italy, such as the island of Sardinia. Italian authorities were forced to seek help from the European Union, which on Monday sent four aircraft to extinguish the fire, as over 350 people were forced to evacuate.

The headquarters of the World Wildlife Fund said on Saturday that nearly 20,000 hectares of land in Sardinje have been affected by fires that have killed animals and destroyed old trees for centuries.