Thousands evacuated as wildfires spread across forest in Italy’s Tuscany
Italian firefighters are currently battling a significant forest fire in Tuscany, which has raged for days, fanned by strong winds, leading to the evacuation of approximately 3,000 residents.
The blaze, active since Tuesday, has engulfed more than 800 hectares on Mount Faeta, an area straddling the provinces of Lucca and Pisa, according to the mayor of nearby San Giuliano Terme. Matteo Cecchelli, the mayor, told public broadcaster RAI that the fire was likely ignited by olive tree prunings that got out of control.
Tuscany regional president Eugenio Giani stated that powerful overnight winds exacerbated the inferno, prompting the precautionary evacuations.
Three Canadair firefighting planes, which scoop water from lakes, rivers or seas before dropping it on fires, had been deployed to support ground staff, the national fire department said on X.
"The fire is still very much active," the deputy mayor of Lucca, Fabio Barsanti, said in a Facebook video.
"All efforts are being made to contain as much as possible the perimeter of the fire, but we cannot relax or make predictions because we are at the mercy of the wind," he said.
A map of Mount Faeta:
Earlier this year the European Union’s climate commissioner announced a continentwide force of 300 firefighters to battle wildfires, after Europe faced its worst year for wildfires in 2025, which a recent study said was intensified by climate change.
EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said the “rapid reaction force” will be made up of firefighters from across the 27-member bloc and will be swiftly deployed where needed.
Hoekstra acknowledged that the tea may require more personnel and equipment in the future, but called it “a huge step forward compared to some five years ago.”
“It is a clear sign of solidarity and that we want to tackle this together,” Hoekstra told a press conference following a meeting of EU environment and climate ministers in the Cypriot capital.
open image in galleryHoekstra didn’t specify where the unit will be based and if it will be activated in time for the summer wildfire season.
In September last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would set up a Cyprus-based regional firefighting hub that could also assist Middle East countries in battling major wildfires.
Von der Leyen said in her annual address to the European Parliament that it was necessary to “give ourselves the tools” to combat wildfires made worse by climate change as summers become “hotter, harsher and more dangerous.”
A study released in August last year indicated that climate change worsened summer wildfires in southern Europe, with the likelihood of similar wildfire outbreaks rising sharply.
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