Around 3,000 residents evacuated in Tuscany as winds fan forest fire

Italian firefighters were on Friday battling to put out a large forest fire ​in Tuscany that has burned for ‌days fanned by strong winds, forcing the evacuation of around 3,000 people.

The fire, active since Tuesday, has spread ​over 800 hectares on Mount Faeta, ​straddling the provinces of Lucca and Pisa, ⁠the mayor of a neighbouring town, San ​Giuliano Terme, said.

It was likely provoked by the ​burning of olive tree prunings that got out of hand, Matteo Cecchelli told public broadcaster RAI.

Overnight, strong winds ​fuelled the fire, prompting the precautionary evacuations, ​Tuscany regional president Eugenio Giani said in a statement.

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.

-Reuters