The still provisional toll of the surface devastated by the vast fire which threatened the Calabrian side of the Pollino National Park for almost a week amounts to around a thousand hectares. The extraordinary commissioner of the Park Authority, Luigi Lirangi, took stock of the situation and illustrated the first data relating to the damage caused by the flames.
According to the reconnaissance carried out by the organisation, the fire affected a total of around 900 hectares of territory. The municipalities most affected are Morano Calabro, with approximately 600 hectares burned, San Basile, where the flames affected 178 hectares, and Saracena, with another 140 hectares devastated.
Forests and Mediterranean scrub destroyed
The fire mainly affected vast areas of Mediterranean scrub, mixed deciduous and coniferous forests, with a prevalence of holm oak, as well as a high forest of black pine resulting from a previous reforestation intervention.
«Thank goodness – declared Lirangi – the most precious and vulnerable part of our natural heritage has been entirely preserved». The commissioner explained that the centuries-old loricated pines, the monumental oaks and the rarest woods located at the highest altitudes were not reached by the flames.
The flames started outside the park
According to what was reported by the extraordinary commissioner, the fire front never reached Dolcedorme nor the most pristine slopes of the mountain range. Furthermore, the fire apparently started from an area outside the perimeter of the Pollino National Park, subsequently spreading within the protected area due to particularly unfavorable weather conditions, characterized by high temperatures, drought and strong gusts of wind.