Fire on the Amalfi Coast: It was an arson attack

The extraordinary beauty of the Amalfi and Sorrento Coasts is once again under fire. A large fire, which broke out yesterday evening in the Amalfi area, quickly spread, due to the terrain conditions, reaching as far as the town of Agerola.

The San Lazzaro area was particularly affected, as the flames reached residential areas, forcing authorities to temporarily evacuate a hotel located close to the fire's front.

Behind the flames is the hand of man, or perhaps more than one: professional arsonists who know how and where to strike, and especially when. In Agerola, in the village of San Lazzaro, the fire licked homes, and residents were evacuated. "It was a criminal act," declared Agerola's deputy mayor, Luca Mascolo, "and from Amalfi the flames, fueled by strong winds, spread all the way to Vico Equense. We were active all night, doing what we could in the dark."

Firefighters, supported by volunteers from the Civil Protection Department, are working nonstop on the scene, racing against time to contain the fires and secure the area.

“Criminal Hands and Thieves of the Future”

Faced with this environmental disaster, Legambiente Campania has quickly taken a very strong stance. Regional president Mariateresa Imparato expressed "concern and outrage" over a natural heritage reduced to ashes, categorically rejecting the hypothesis of chance.

“The fire threatening our region cannot be considered a fatality,” thunders Imparato. “Forest fires are cowardly acts, too often fueled by speculative interests and criminal hands.”

While we await police findings to clarify the exact nature of the fire, the damage is already visible and, according to the environmental association, incalculable. "These thieves of the future are destroying hectares of forests, farmland, and vegetation. They are causing devastating damage to biodiversity and the country's natural heritage, with serious repercussions on the local economy and, not least, on the health of citizens."

The recipe: prevention and stopping speculation

For Legambiente, emergency management is no longer sufficient. A structural shift is needed to prevent the same tragic scenario from repeating itself every summer. "To effectively combat the scourge of fires, an integrated approach based on four pillars is necessary: ​​prevention, detection, monitoring, and active response," explains President Imparato, emphasizing how forest fire prevention plans alone are now only partial tools if not integrated with forestry plans and climate change adaptation strategies.

But there's a crucial issue regarding the administrative and criminal enforcement of disaster profiteers. "Alongside prevention, full enforcement of the law is essential," concludes the head of Legambiente Campania. "It's urgent to ensure the timely updating of the land registry of fire-affected areas: it's the only way to nip any speculation in the bud. Furthermore, we demand that the penalties for forest fires be extended to all types of fires."