The South continues to burn. In Sicily still red sticker for the risk of fires tomorrow, Friday 13 August. The regional civil protection has issued a bulletin with the highest level of alert in the provinces of Palermo, Catania, Enna, Agrigento and Caltanissetta. The risk of heat waves for the city of Palermo is still red with perceived temperatures up to 37 °. The fires are ravaging Calabria. “The peculiarity of this emergency is that the fires started in several points and then joined together,” says Carlo Metelli, provincial commander of the Reggio Calabria Fire Brigade, tracing the picture of the situation with Adnkronos. “We had very high temperatures and in this province it hasn’t rained for 5-6 months, so the vegetation is dry – explains Metelli – This mix has increased susceptibility”. Yesterday at this time the fire brigade had opened 54 interventions, a record for the command of Reggio Calabria. “A situation – underlines the commander – not known in living memory here in Reggio Calabria, where there is a command accustomed to dealing with forest fires. I believe it has never happened. The positive thing is that today it is a bit ‘ less hot and the wind has ceased, so we are recording a significant decrease in interventions. At the moment we are managing 16 files which is an important number but nothing compared to what happened yesterday. Even the staff in the operations room was exhausted last night “. On the current situation, the commander of the fire brigade underlines that “at the moment the teams are engaged in the Municipality of San Luca, where the Aspromonte national park is burning”. “In addition to the Calabria Verde teams, there are a special operational group and two fire brigade teams – he says – The area is very large and has a great environmental value. In the area of Grotteria and Mammola the flames are approaching the inhabited centers and in the Municipality of San Giovanni di Gerace we are also working with the support of the area fleet. At the moment there are two Canadair in action, one of which is from the French fleet “. “At 1.30 pm – says Metelli – the French Canadians, who were returning from Greece, were brought down to Lamezia Terme with supplies and are helping us in the Calabria Region”. “The other slightly critical point yesterday, where today the situation has improved, is that of Cardeto. There the fire persists and is in a higher position, therefore less dangerous for the inhabited center but always important from a landscape point of view. and environmental – he specifies – on the spot we have two teams and one of our director of firefighting operations “. But these are the most challenging fronts. “The command – concludes Metelli – in addition to these interventions has been involved in a myriad of smaller interventions that have heavily drained the resources and for this we have had reinforcements”. On Twitter, the mayor of Reggio Calabria, Giuseppe Falcomatà, addressed the premier: “President Draghi comes to #Calabria on August 15th to verify the disastrous state of the territory harassed by #fires. The fire front is not yet under control, mountains and hills continue to burn. Extraordinary measures are needed! @Palazzo_Chigi “. “The situation is not good: the fires continue to advance. We have been isolated for 4 days now and we do not know how long we will be. There are several outbreaks currently and the Canadair are trying to put them out. The main road is blocked by flames,” he says. to the Adnkronos the Rector of the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Polsi, on the Aspromonte, Don Tonino Saracco. In Sicily, the WWF asked the prefect of Enna Matilde Pirrera to work “with the utmost urgency to request the competent state bodies to activate the intervention for public calamities of the Armed Forces, in competition with the other forces currently involved in the fight against fires “. In the document, the WWF underlined how “the serious, extensive and lasting emergency situation of fires, particularly in the territory of the province of Enna, requires extraordinary interventions and resolute choices”. “The very serious fires in the last few hours in Pergusa – reads the document – clearly demonstrate the preordained and organized attack on wooded areas, the landscape, biodiversity, economic activities and even the public and private safety of entire centers inhabited “. The Army would also serve to “strengthen control of the territory on days at risk, even by inhibiting access without justified reason to wooded areas”. “The need to employ new forces of the state to deal with the extraordinary and serious emergency is now evident and cannot be postponed”. In the Ragusa area, the extinguishing of the still active outbreaks in the Calaforno area, between Giarratana and Monterosso, yesterday hit by a big fire, are still in progress. Canadair and helicopters are also assisted. Instead, the flames are extinguished on the San Giacomo front, also in the Ragusa area, where throughout the night the Fire Brigade and the Civil Protection, with the support of the municipal police, also carried out interventions on reports from the owners of houses and land. “The areas of the fires are not connected to each other and this suggests the malicious nature of the events: the competent authorities have started investigations to find those who have committed a crime so despicable that it deserves very severe penalties – said the mayor of Ragusa Peppe Cassì at the end of an inspection with the prefect and the leaders of the police in the fire areas – The Rescue Coordination Center, which operates under the direction of the prefect, is in constant contact with the regional and national authorities and the emergency services, prepared in time, therefore continues to operate effectively. It is objectively impossible to guard every corner of the forest or countryside, so everyone is invited to immediately report any beginning of fire to the fire brigade or civil protection “. The fires of recent days have devastated the Madonie, burned hectares and hectares of vegetation and Mediterranean scrub. Gangi, Geraci Siculo, Petralia Soprana and Sottana, San Mauro Castelverde, Polizzi Generosa, were engulfed in flames that did not spare even homes and farms. Even today, the Canadair are in action to extinguish some outbreaks. And if it is too early to calculate the extent of the environmental damage, an appeal to tourists comes from these villages. “The best help that can come to us right now – says the Mayor of Gangi and president of the Gal (Local Action Group) Madonie Francesco Migliazzo to the Adnkronos – is to continue to come and visit our villages, unfortunately renouncing to enjoy our naturalistic beauties, devastated by criminal hands, and focusing on our historical and cultural heritage “. There has already been some cancellation, says Migliazzo, “above all because we were forced to cancel some events that were scheduled and which also included musical events and shows”. But, at least for now, tourists don’t seem to want to leave the Madonie. “For us – explains the president of the Gal – it would be a further blow that would bring the entire hospitality sector to its knees, from hotels to B & Bs to museums and restaurants. The concern is that people think that everything is destroyed, but it is not: these villages have a lot to offer, with their history, their churches and their artistic-cultural heritage “. In the misfortune, the solidarity machine was “moving”. “Aid came from all over Sicily – says Migliazzo – There were tourists we contacted to warn that some events were canceled and that we were ready to refund the tickets: some told us they would come anyway, others did not want the refund and they asked us to use that money to help those who have lost everything due to the fires “.