Puglia officials combat surge in suspected arson wildfires

Puglia Regional President Antonio Decaro has condemned a series of suspected arson attacks that have devastated the region. Since the beginning of the year, 103 fires have affected Puglia, destroying 8,370 hectares of land.

To combat the crisis, two Fire Boss amphibious ultralight aircraft are being deployed to Foggia to support the 19 Canadair planes already stationed in the territory. Decaro also announced a 1.4 million euro allocation from park management entities to purchase firefighting ground vehicles, along with 10 million euros dedicated to reforestation efforts.

Authorities are increasing surveillance, including the use of drones in cooperation with law enforcement, to identify those responsible. Decaro noted that statistically, only 1% of forest fires in the country are caused by natural factors, implying that 99% are human-caused.