The race against time continues. Hundreds of firefighters continue to fight the fires, particularly in north-eastern Greece, where deadly fires have been raging for the ninth straight day. The largest fire, representing a united front, continues to devastate the northern region of Evros, near the port city of Alexandroupoli and the Turkish border, according to the fire service.
The fire broke out last Saturday and 19 suspected migrants, including two children, were found dead in the area this week. Residents of the Lefkimmi areas in Evros and Kassitera in the neighboring Rhodope region were ordered to vacate their homes by a civil protection notice on Sunday.
“Incalculable” destruction
The deputy regional governor of Evros, Dimitris Petrovic, spoke on the public broadcaster ERT of a “very difficult situation” that caused incalculable destruction. “We have launched a new call for funding,” he added. “Because from Monday the wind is changing, the threat is increasing and we don’t know how and if we can stop the advance of the fire front.” “All of this is on our minds,” he added. In particular, the fire is devastating the protected forest of Dadia, a national park that is an important habitat or wintering area for birds of prey.
In northern Athens, a fire continues to destroy vegetation on Mount Parnes, one of the green lungs of the Greek capital. Firefighters have also been on duty on the island of Andros in the Cyclades archipelago since Saturday after a fire broke out which the fire department said was undoubtedly caused by lightning.
In 2023, the fires that the government blames on climate change burned more than 120,000 hectares across the country, according to estimates by the National Observatory – three times the annual average since 2006, the observatory itself found. Forest fires in Europe.