On 22 August 2000, Italian Forest Guards had to intervene on a major wildfire affecting the communes of Armento and Montemurro in the province of Potenza in the Agri Valley (Basilicata). A total of 388 unit crews and six air tankers / helitankers worked for five consecutive days. Part of Armento village had to be evacuated for safety reasons. The Forest Guards recorded total fire coverage of 1350 hectares out of which 600 ha covered forested areas.

The burned scars were mapped by ITALSCAR using a post-fire LandSat 7 ETM Image dated 27 August 2002, which measured an overall area of 546 ha of burned woodland on the western side of the valley and 77 ha on the eastern side.