Wildfires

Wildfires - Italy

Firefighters are battling wildfires throughout southern Italy, including along the slopes of the volcano Mount Vesuvius near Naples.

Wildfires have been raging for days, and Italy's civil protection agency on Tuesday said it was responding with helicopters to 18 blazes, including four in Campania, the region which includes Naples, and two each in Sicily and Basilicata.

Some people have been evacuated as a precaution from near Mount Vesuvius, where the smoke emitted from the blaze some 2 kilometers (a mile) wide deceived some observers who thought the volcano was erupting.

Wildfires - British Columbia, Canada

Some 14,000 people have been evacuated in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) as more firefighters arrive to help fight the flames. About 300 out-of-province firefighters are due this week to assist in battling the roughly 220 fires raging in BC's central interior region.

Emergency officials said about 40,000 hectares have burned across the province since 1 April with most of the damage in recent days.

The number of evacuees has doubled from roughly 7,000 people on Saturday. About 1,500 people were forced to drive overnight on Sunday when the town of 100 Mile Housein the South Caribou region was told to evacuate as the fires began to pose a threat to the community. The fires are also threatening the region's livestock.