The fires that have ravaged more than 100,000 hectares in Greece since the end of July have been brought under control, a firefighter spokesman told AFP on Friday (08/13/2021). “Since yesterday (Thursday) there are no longer any major active fronts, only scattered outbreaks,” said the official, attributing this improvement to recent rains and lower temperatures. Firefighters, deployed by the hundreds in critical locations, remain on alert due to the risk of recurrence of fires on the island of Euboea, the place most affected by the flames, and in the region of Arcadia, in the Peloponnese, according to the same source.
Over the weekend, strong winds are expected, which can cause the flames to spread quickly, said Civil Protection spokesman Spyros Georgiou. The international reinforcements remain on site and “contribute to the surveillance of the perimeters of the burned areas of Euboea and Arcadia, which extend over several kilometres”, added the spokesman. “A lot of them asked to stay,” Georgiou said.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said it was an unprecedented environmental disaster that he attributed directly to climate change. Additionally, Mitsotakis pledged hundreds of millions of euros to rebuild, reforest and protect the country from flooding, as well as an increase of 1.7 billion for civil protection. Funds “will begin to release in a few days…and will be higher than before for everyone who has been affected” by the fires, he told media on Thursday.
The prime minister’s office also announced a series of small cabinet changes on Friday, following the catastrophic fires, which razed more than 100,000 hectares in Greece in just over a week. Most of the changes relate to positions close to the Prime Minister, which will give him more control over the management of the recovery of areas affected by the fires, and do not affect any of those directly responsible for managing the devastating fires.
lgc (afp/efe)
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
Heat wave causes forest fires
With temperatures between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius, Greece and Turkey are currently experiencing an extraordinary heat wave. The result: wildfires of unimaginable magnitude. The winds make it even more difficult to fight the fire, like here north of Athens. There are indications that fires have been started.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
desperate defense
People try to save their possessions with the simplest means, like this man in Thrakomakedones, near Athens. The day before, two people died in fires in the north of the capital. Separately, police arrested a 43-year-old man on suspicion of arson in the Athens neighborhood of Krioneri, Greek news agency ANA reported.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
Too little invested?
A Sikorsky S-64 firefighting helicopter moves north of Athens. Critics say the government has invested too little in this type of firefighting aircraft in the past. Also in the Peloponnese, hundreds of hectares burned east of the ancient site of Olympia and in the regions of Mani and Messenia. More than 5,000 residents and tourists had to flee.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
picture of destruction
Early estimates say at least 60,000 hectares or 600 square kilometers have so far burned in the fires in Greece. This was reported by public broadcaster ERT on Saturday, citing the National Observatory in Athens.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
Until exhaustion
Numerous fires, especially on the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Evia, continue to rage uncontrollably. And also in the north of Athens there are several epidemics which still cannot be controlled. Many firefighters only get a short break, and only in the middle of the road.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
Volunteers join the rescue
They are also part of the heroes of the Greek tragedy: the volunteers who come to lend a hand. A volunteer can be seen here in Afidnes, near Athens, where temperatures of over 42 degrees Celsius were recently measured.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
A glimmer of hope on the horizon
Large fires in northern Athens were partially brought under control on Saturday. “For the first time we can say that the situation is a little better: there are currently only two fronts of fire,” Nikos Peppas, vice-governor of the Attica region, told Skai television. It is hoped that the fires will soon be brought under control.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
We have to stay together
The past few days have also brought with them devastating wildfires in neighboring Turkey. In particular, the southern and western coastal regions of the country have been badly affected. In the western province of Mugla, Turkey, the fires spread overnight. Here, near Bodrum, firefighters are delighted with a (partial) success in extinguishing the fires.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
Continuous operation on the ground and in the air
Also in Turkey, all available firefighting equipment is activated. 5,250 firefighters and more than 80 helicopters, planes and drones, as well as some 1,000 vehicles, are being used to put out the blaze, or so President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote on Twitter.
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Forest fires in Greece: a “nightmarish summer”
The rain brings hope
A burning car near Antalya. Here in the south-west of the province, it rained heavily on Saturday, as did the city of Manavgat, the city most affected by the fires. According to the authorities, the fires have been brought under control in the meantime.
Author: Friedel Taube
