Wildfire on Vesuvius believed to have been started by arsonist
Gioacchino Madonna, the mayor of Massa di Somma who heads a network of mayors in the Vesuvius area, said: 'Arson or incompetence are certainly at the forefront of the theories about the cause. Authorities will have to determine any responsibilities, including through the video surveillance system in place in the park.'
Investigators are expected to examine CCTV footage and other evidence once the fire is brought under control.
As volunteer civil protection teams raced from across the country to help fight the inferno, Francesco Ranieri, mayor of Terzigno, a town close to the mountain, said, 'what we are seeing right now is apocalyptic'.
More than 12 firefighting units are on the ground, including reinforcements sent from Tuscany and the Marche region in central Italy, the fire service said.
Hundreds of local residents slept outdoors on Saturday night, but no deaths or injuries have so far been reported. Mr Ranieri said winds had caused the fire to spread up the slopes of the volcano.
Despite concern about residential areas, there have not yet been any evacuations. 'We are very worried about the evolving situation and our thoughts to go to safeguarding the natural heritage and the security of those who live and work around the volcano,' Raffaele De Luca, the president of the Vesuvius National Park, said.
The blaze has already destroyed more than 500 hectares of woodland, with devastating consequences for farmland, forests and biodiversity.
Hiking trails have been closed to tourists and concerns remain for residents in towns including Ottaviano and San Giuseppe Vesuviano.
The civil protection minister, Sebastiano Musumeci, passed a decree late on Saturday authorising the mobilisation of 23 teams of civil protection volunteers from across the country.
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About 100 volunteers joined firefighters yesterday. The civil protection service also requested the army be deployed to guarantee road access and adequate water supplies.
Six aircraft and four regional helicopters have been brought in to assist firefighting efforts in an attempt to control a widening front that is stretching for about 3km around Vesuvius National Park and between the towns of Terzigno and Boscoreale.
In 2017, a fire, believed to have been deliberately lit, swept through Vesuvius National Park, causing widespread damage to the forested area around the mountain and triggering a severe national drought.
Meanwhile, in southern France, firefighters have contained a massive wildfire that has caused widespread damage, but officials are concerned that scorching heat and dry conditions could reignite the blaze as a new heat wave sweeps across the Mediterranean region.
The fire swept through the southern Aude department at the peak of the summer tourist season, killing one person and injuring several others. The fire is still burning within a 16,000-hectare area, Christophe Magny, chief of the region's firefighter unit, said on Saturday.
The blaze would not be completely extinguished for several weeks, he added.
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