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Wildfires prompt tourists to flee by boat from Sicily, imperil people, wildlife on Vesuvius

Woodland fires burn near a tourist resort where, according to firefighter reports, some several hundred tourists have been evacuated by land and sea, in the Sicilian town of San Vito lo Capo, southern Italy, Wednesday. Wildfires have been raging for days and Italian firefighters said Wednesday they were responding to 887 fires throughout Italy, 628 of which regarded vegetation and woodlands. | ITALIAN FIREFIGHTERS VIGILI DEL FUOCO / VIA AP

Reuters

Jul 13, 2017

ROME –

Seven hundred tourists were evacuated by boat from wildfires in Sicily on Wednesday, local media reported, as swaths of southern Italy burned after months with little rainfall.

There were no reports of injuries caused by the blaze at the Calampiso seaside resort west of the island's capital Palermo, but the mayor of a nearby town appealed for help in the rescue.

"We need minibuses and cars to pick people up at the little port and take them to school buildings," Matteo Rizzo, mayor of San Vito Lo Capo, wrote on Facebook. "Let's all do something."

Wildfires prompt tourists to flee by boat from Sicily, imperil people, wildlife on Vesuvius

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