Wildfire on the island of Sardinia forces residents to evacuate

A large wildfire in the west of the Italian island of Sardinia forced several hundred residents to evacuate on Saturday night, according to media reports.

Around 400 people had to leave their homes, Italian media reported. Among other areas, residents of the village of Cuglieri were affected.

Some residents were able to return on Sunday morning when the situation improved slightly. The "enormous fire" has been destroying the fields in the region since Saturday, the newspaper Nuova Sardegna wrote.

Emergency forces continued to fight the flames on Sunday. Several firefighting planes and helicopters were deployed over the island, as the Italian news agency ANSA reported citing the authorities.

The flames in the west of the island engulfed several thousand hectares, according to initial estimates by the authorities.

Houses were also damaged, media reported. The Coldiretti agricultural association spoke of a "catastrophe" and considerable damage to agriculture. Meadows, forests and in some cases animals had been lost, it said.

The fire danger remains high, and according to media reports, blazes flared up in other parts of the country. Authorities warned that temperatures would remain high on Monday.