Aircraft use Weissensee water to fight Friulian wildfires

Firefighters are battling around 17 wildfires in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, with aircraft drawing water from Weissensee lake in Carinthia to support operations, ORF’s Carinthia service reported.

Wind has caused the fires to spread again across more than 200 hectares. Fourteen of the fires are north of Udine, while operations are particularly demanding south of Tolmezzo, where crews are fighting the flames from the air and on the ground.

On Friday, one Italian Canadair aircraft and two Slovenian Air Tractor firefighting planes were operating in the area. The Canadair can collect about 6,000 litres of water from Weissensee, while each Slovenian aircraft can take up to 3,000 litres.

When an aircraft approaches the lake, a fire service boat, a police boat and a water rescue boat close a marked corridor to keep stand-up paddleboarders and other boats away. The aircraft can then collect water, with one arriving every 15 to 20 minutes.

The operation is coordinated by civil protection officials in Palmanova, Italy, while Carinthia remains in regular contact with the Italian emergency services. The situation is now under control. Fire brigades from Carinthia are not directly involved in fighting the fires in Italy.