UKH

Anyone stayed in San Vito Lo Capo recently? I've just read that it got hit hard by wildfires due to the heatwave and had to be evacuated - a lot of fire damaged buildings. Has anyone been recently and can comment on this? We are due to visit in a couple of weeks, still okay to visit?

Would be interested to know where you have heard this from.

It’s not uncommon though for fires in the summer but out in the reserve and away from most crags. Rocca Firriato has been hit in the past though and is the only one I know of that you should watch out for.

Hi Daimon,

https://news.italy24.press/local/722267.html

https://www.tp24.it/2023/07/27/english-news/apocalypse-in-sicily-48-hours-o...

Also, a recent review from August 2023 for the accommodation I will be staying in described the area as 'like Mordor'.

Yes not much to go on at the moment but I suspect the crags may be ok for the main areas as El-Bahira has not reported anything but probably good to check in with them also. My main concern is the people and how they are as it sounds like some houses on the outskirts have been affected. 

Three of us will be there in mid-October. I asked a local climber I know about the fires damage and his reply is below...

Many people had damage to their homes. Some of the climbing spots like Cattedrale or the multi-pitch of Monte Monaco were surrounded by fire and the condition of the climbing there is not known.

The Scogliera di Salinella is totally fine. Things are back to normal and we wait for the rain to come to turn the mountains from black to green! 

Alan

We visited in October and found that there had been a lot of fire damage but it wasn't a problem, for the vast majority of the climbing including all the Scogliera cliffs.

The vegetation below Nuova Ossessione, Cattedrale nel Deserto and Pizzo Monaco is scorched almost right up to the cliff. This actually has the odd benefit of making these crags much easier to approach since the vegetation had been quite thick below some of them. In some places, the fire burnt so close to the rock that the lower 4 or 5m of rock has a shattered surface which results in some crusty loose rock flakes which are quite unnerving however this is limited to only a few routes on the crags we visited and they are all still climbable. 

As a great indication of the resistance of nature, the charred stumps in most places have already started sprouting verdant shoots on new growth showing that the long-term damage is going to be very limited. There seemed to be very little visible damage to buildings.

Overall, there is no reason not to go and the area is wonderful.

We have just updated Rockfax Digital with some minor updates including much-improved topo and descriptions for Pizzo Monaco including the fabulous route L'Abito Non Fa Il Monaco (6b). This was on our target to check before the print guide but the last-minute trip was scuppered by Covid.

Alan

We were there just over a month ago (left 14 October) and saw no fire damage in San Vito or Palermo, or anywhere near the Scogliera cliffs. We did see 2 instances of farmers burning a field well away from urban areas, but both of those fires were well under control.