On July 8, a bush fire in the Moneta district of the island of La Maddalena caused a stir. The fire broke out near the "Salvatore Zichina" soccer pitch and quickly spread to the surrounding bushes. The fire spread quickly, intensified by the mistral wind, so that the emergency services had to react immediately. In the early hours of the morning, Mayor Fabio Lai had already activated the crisis team due to a red warning of extreme forest fire danger. The fire broke out only shortly after the end of this meeting, which enabled rapid coordination of the rescue measures.
To contain the flames, a Canadair firefighting aircraft from Olbia and helicopters from the regional forestry authority were deployed to drop water. The fire department remained on alert, as the entire east coast of Sardinia was at high risk of fire that day. As a precautionary measure, around twenty residents were evacuated from the affected area. Some of them, including people with disabilities, were taken to safety by boat by the coastguard to protect them from the spreading smoke and fire hazard.
Despite the dangerous conditions, the fire was ultimately brought under control. Material damage was largely limited and major destruction was prevented. The mayor was relieved that the incident had ended so smoothly. However, he also pointed out that the situation could have become more critical if the fire had broken out on a market day with a higher number of visitors.
The incident is one of a series of fires that were sparked by the strong mistral winds in Sardinia that day. In total, numerous fires were reported, several of which required the use of fire-fighting aircraft and helicopters. On La Maddalena, however, the flames were quickly contained and the population was saved from major damage.
