Reggio Emilia, August 7, 2026 – A hell. One hundred hectares of forest have been continuously burning since Thursday afternoon between Trinità and Vedriano di Canossa. A fire that is said to have been caused by lightning during a thunderstorm that struck the Matildic lands on Thursday afternoon. And that the firefighters have been trying to tame. Today, due to the wind, the flames spread dangerously in several directions, leading to the precautionary measure of evacuating some homes.
The furious fire
Everything broke out around 5:50 PM on Thursday, probably following a lightning strike during a thunderstorm. The fire developed in a wooded area with few houses but particularly rugged terrain, which made extinguishing operations much more complex. After today’s weather complications, by 6 PM the affected area had reached about 100 hectares of territory including woods, meadows, and dry vegetation.
The evacuations
Among the areas closest to the fire front are “Il Villaggio dei Lupi” and generally the hamlet “La Tezza”, as well as the agritourism “La Collina dei Cavalli”, one of the first facilities to be involved, forced to close and evacuate the 36 scouts aged between 11 and 16 years who had been camping near the building until Thursday.
Three family units were initially evacuated from their homes and found shelter with relatives, while another 10 people were alerted. Other secondary homes and structures in the area were also monitored, as sudden weather changes risked altering the situation minute by minute. Regarding animals, about 15 animals at “La Collina dei Cavalli” were transferred to a stable 5 km away, given the arrival of flames inside the fences just 50 meters from the facility.
Forces in the field
Throughout all operations, the forces in the field remained in contact to coordinate movements. We are talking about a very high number of units including firefighters, civil protection volunteers, forest rangers, law enforcement, and individual citizens, all engaged on the ground.
During the night, the number of firefighters in the field will remain unchanged, with four teams coming from Reggio and numerous reinforcements arriving from Castelnovo Monti, Sant’Ilario, Sassuolo, Parma, Bologna.
The support of civil protection volunteers (over 60) was also fundamental, with several operational teams involved and additional reinforcements arriving from Parma, mainly engaged in cleaning up areas already affected by flames, creating barriers to prevent the spread of fire, and guarding the most sensitive zones.
Read more Heat break? El Niño shows no mercy: the weather trend in Emilia-Romagna
But essential help also came from local residents and farmers, who with agricultural machinery made furrows and plowed strips of worked land to slow the fire’s advance, as well as providing water tanks and everything necessary to aid the effort.
Aerial vehicles
Throughout the day, until evening, several aerial vehicles were activated. The firefighters’ helicopter ’Drago 151’ and two Canadairs made numerous drops: the first refueling from local basins and, for the national aircraft, also from the coastal area between La Spezia and Carrara.
Operations were made more difficult by a thick column of smoke, which limited visibility and the possibility of intervening directly on the heart of the fire. In any case, to facilitate aerial interventions, Enel temporarily disconnected seven electrical cabins, affecting about 118 users, then reconnected them during the night once helicopter and aircraft activities ended.
Prefecture summit: Coc activated
In the afternoon, a summit was held with the prefecture to coordinate rescue operations, while the Municipality of Canossa activated the Municipal Operations Center, the civil protection structure that the mayor activates locally to direct rescue and assistance to the population in emergencies. As a precaution, it also ordered the evacuation of several people from homes closest to the flames.
The area remained under health observation also due to smoke and odors generated by the burning vegetation, which reached neighboring villages. During the night, monitoring was carried out using drones and thermal cameras to oversee the situation and prevent reignition of the fire, then aerial activities resumed this morning.
Read more Mandatory license for dog owners, bill proposed in Marche: what are the key points
