Tuscany firefighters battled a forest fire that forced hundreds of residents from their homes and ignited gas tanks, while shipbuilder Fincandieri was forced to close a factory employing 3,000 people due to smoke from a fire in the country’s northeast.

Wildfires have raged in many parts of Italy this week as temperatures continue to rise.

The number of cities that have declared the highest level of alert for a heat wave has increased from five to nine, and the number is expected to rise to 14 on Thursday, including Rome, Milan and Florence. Friday.

Temperatures are expected to reach 40 degrees this week in northern and central Italy, the Apulia region in the south, and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. Today, Wednesday, the fire that started on Monday evening near the city of Lucca in the Tuscany region continues to burn and has already destroyed about 1,500 acres of forest.

The region’s governor, Eugenio Gianni, wrote on Twitter that the fire forced about 500 people to leave their homes, with flames reaching some villages overnight and exploding some liquefied gas tanks.

Authorities urged people to stay indoors because of thick smoke from a fire in the northeastern Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Karsu on the border with Croatia and Slovenia on Tuesday. The fire prompted state-owned shipbuilder Fincantieri to close its plant in the port city of Monfalcone.