“It’s raining ash,” report residents of the northern Italian town of Monfalcone. A karst fire on the Slovenian-Italian border has spread again. Lisert’s toll booth was closed and all employees had to be evacuated. The roads are partially closed, there are kilometers of traffic jams with hours of waiting in each direction. The motorway operator “Autovie Venete” ordered the section of the A4 motorway between Redipuglia and Sistiana towards Trieste to be closed on Tuesday. Rail traffic on the Venice-Trieste line between Monfalcone and Duino Aurisina also remains suspended and the Trieste station is not accessible.
Smoke columns can be seen from afar
A large column of smoke can also be seen from the highway. Tourists report that columns of smoke can also be seen in Grado and Lignano. Drivers report chaotic conditions on the roads. Even ten kilometers from the highway entrance and 25 kilometers from Trieste and Gorizia, there are traffic jams on the roads.
During Wednesday night, firefighters from Udine, Trieste and Gorizia were mobilized in the karst area. They were supported by Slovenian firefighters and private individuals. A production plant at shipping company Fincantieri remained closed on Wednesday. This is done to protect the 3,000 workers, the company said. The Friuli-Venezia Giulia region has already declared a state of emergency.
Clouds of smoke can be seen from miles away © Stephan Schild
© Stephan Schild
Chaos reigns in the streets © Stephan Schild
Fire has been on since Sunday
The fire has been burning since Sunday. On Tuesday, the situation was initially thought to be under control. As the Slovenian daily newspaper Primorski Dnevnik wrote on Tuesday, the fire has now been brought under control. According to Stanko Močnik, the head of operations that night, last night was significantly less stressful for the emergency services than the previous one. There would still be some small sources of fire, but the fire brigade managed to prevent the fire from happening again with immediate measures.
Long traffic jams occurred on the border between Italy and Slovenia on Tuesday afternoon © Google Maps
“We can only hope that the worst is over,” said the North Primorska regional civil defense headquarters. “On Tuesday, President Borut Pahor and Civil Defense Commander Srečko Šestan will visit the fire command post in Karst”, according to “Primorski Dnevnik”.