Greece is battling three major forest fires in the north, south and east on Sunday, July 24, with fears of new disasters due to a heat wave in the country. On the island of Lesbos, firefighters said Saturday’s fire continued to burn.
Hundreds of tourists and locals have been evacuated from the Greek island, threatening the popular resort town of Vadera. The fire produced thick clouds of smoke that obscured the sun and flames that spread meters away from residences, forcing residents to evacuate while others tried to protect their homes. According to state channel ERT, at least four houses were destroyed.
The fire near Vadera broke out in the mid-morning hours, spreading to this coastal village and the neighboring town of Vrissa. In Vathera, whose city hall ordered a preventive evacuation in the morning, 450 people left two hotels and 92 houses, according to police, after nine people, including five foreign nationals, were evacuated from the beach. City Hall reported that several cars and small boats participated in the operation.
Greece is experiencing a heat wave expected to last ten days from Saturday and temperatures of 42°C are expected in some regions, raising fears of other fires. According to Greek firefighters, 53 fires started in 24 hours.
An “exceptionally difficult” fire
Greek firefighters also battled a violent fire for a fourth day in a row in Thadda National Park, Greece’s largest Natura 2000 site, known for its vulture colony in the Evros region in the north. fire, “exceptionally difficult”Firefighters rated It forced the authorities to evacuate Thadia village on Saturday evening.
A total of 320 firefighters and 68 appliances have been deployed since Friday evening, including a large number of volunteer firefighters, supported by six water-bombing helicopters and nine helicopters. Dense smoke and lack of air, combined with high humidity overnight Friday into Saturday, hampered aerial firefighting operations.
Wildfires raged in the mountains near Athens on Wednesday, damaging homes and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate, a few miles from the coastal village of Matti, the scene of Greece’s worst wildfire disaster of 2018. 102 people died. A memorial service was also organized at Mati on Saturday. In addition, in the Peloponnese on Saturday, a new fire broke out near Koroni and the neighboring village of Chrysogelaria had to be evacuated in the evening.
The proliferation of extreme weather events is a direct result of global warming, according to scientists, as greenhouse gas emissions increase in intensity, duration and frequency. Last year, a heat wave and forest fire in Greece destroyed 103,000 hectares and killed three people.
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