Hundreds of firefighters fight in Greece against the more than 70 forest fires declared throughout the country since Friday. A task to which the climate is not contributing: strong winds and high temperatures increase the risk for the fires to continue spreading.
The intense fires have already claimed their first fatality, a 55-year-old man who was helping in the efforts to extinguish a large fire in the region of Elison the peninsula of Peloponnesuswhere the largest fronts in the country are currently located.
According to local media, fifty firefighters, with 19 trucks, six planes and a tanker helicopter operate in the area to contain this forest fire, which has a front of about 10 kilometers. The flames have already forced the evacuation of at least 10 towns, while extinguishing tasks are made difficult by strong winds.
The fires in Greece claim their first fatality in the Peloponnese.
This Saturday, firefighters managed to control a forest fire on the island of Salamis, in the Saronic Gulf west of Athens, and another about 30 kilometers east of the capital.
More than 100 firefighters with 38 trucks, 3 planes and a helicopter tanker fight another large forest fire in the region of Achaia. The flames have already forced the evacuation of at least five towns.
In the region of ArgolisAlso in the Peloponnesusanother fire has forced the evacuation of the town of Kranidi, where the flames caused damage to some homes.
After last year’s wildfires forced 19,000 people to flee the island of Rhodes and left 20 dead in the north of the country, Greece has stepped up its preparations this year by hiring more staff and increasing training.
Locals observe a forest fire in the town of Latas (Greece).
Reuters
However, temperatures have touched or exceeded 40 degrees Celsius since last Tuesday, when at this time of year it was usual for them to range between a minimum of 20 degrees and a maximum of 33 degrees. In addition, wind gusts exceed 95 kilometers per hour in some areas of the country.
Thirteen detained in Hydra
On the other hand, the authorities 13 crew members and passengers of a yacht were arrested this Saturdayafter the Fireworks launched from the boat caused a forest fire on the island of Hydra.
Firefighters managed to control the fire, which burned part of the only pine forest on the island.
The authors of the fire notified the firefighters after trying unsuccessfully to put out the initial flames, but after the call they fled.
The detainees will appear before a prosecutor this Sunday, the fire department reported in a press release.
“We are outraged”, denounced the mayor of Hydra, George Koukoudakis, on state television. “If it’s true, it’s something that really saddens me.”
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