ATHENS, Greece – More than 600 firefighters, including reinforcements from several European countries and supported by a fleet of water-dropping aircraft and helicopters, were battling the remains of three large wildfires in Greece Sunday, two of which had been raging for days.
Greece has been plagued by daily outbreaks of dozens of fires over the past week as high winds and hot, dry summer conditions combined to stoke flames and hamper firefighting efforts.
Across the country, firefighters were battling 105 wildfires on Sunday, with 46 of them burning in the 24 hours between Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon, the fire department said.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, with arson suspected in some cases.
In Greece’s northeastern regions of Evros and Alexandroupolis, a massive forest fire believed to have caused 20 of the 21 wildfire-related deaths in the past week is raging for a ninth day.
The blaze, in which smaller fires combined to form one of the biggest single wildfires ever to hit a European Union country, destroyed large areas of forest and burned houses in a remote area of the city of Alexandroupolis.
People watch a forest fire near the village of Sykorrahi in Greece on August 23, 2023.AP Photo/Achilleas Chiras
A house is destroyed by fire northwest of Athens on August 27, 2023.AP Photo/Michael Varaklas
On Sunday, 295 firefighters, seven aircraft and five helicopters were tackling the fire which created a new line of fire, prompting evacuation orders for two villages, one in Evros region and the other in Rodopi region.
The wildfire has scorched 77,000 hectares (297 square miles) of land and has 120 active hotspots, the European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service said Sunday.
Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the EU space program and uses satellite imagery to provide mapping data.
More than 600 firefighters are trying to put out the remnants of three different large fires in Greece this weekend. AP Photo/Achilleas Chiras
Pope Francis, while addressing the crowd in St. Peter at the Vatican on Sunday, said he wanted to express the assurance that he remembers “in prayer the victims of the fire that has burned today in northeastern Greece.”
He also expressed a “supportive affinity” to the Greeks.
On the northwestern outskirts of the Greek capital, another large fire that has been burning for several days is now contained and is being tackled by 160 firefighters, one plane and three helicopters.
The fire has consumed houses and part of the national park on Mount Parnitha, one of the last green areas near Athens.
A third major fire started on Saturday on the Cycladic island of Andros and was still under control Sunday, with 73 firefighters, two planes and two helicopters battling the blaze.
A lightning strike is suspected to have sparked the forest fire.
The fire also broke out in a large fire in the central province of Viotia, the fire department said.
With firefighting forces stretched to the limit, Greece has asked for help from other European countries.
Germany, Sweden, Croatia and Cyprus have sent planes, while dozens of Romanian, French, Czech, Bulgarian, Albanian, Slovak and Serbian firefighters are helping on the ground.
With hot and dry summers, southern European countries are particularly vulnerable to forest fires.
Burning forest on Mount Parnitha northwest of Athens.AP Photo/Michael Varaklas
Religious icons destroyed by fire near Athens.AP Photo/Michael Varaklas
European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increased frequency and intensity of forest fires in Europe, noting that 2022 will be the second worst year for forest fire damage on record after 2017.
The cause of two of the biggest fires in Greece has yet to be determined. For some of the smaller fires, officials have said arson or negligence is suspected, and several people have been arrested.
On Saturday, fire officials arrested two men, one on the island of Evia and one in the central Greek region of Larissa, for allegedly deliberately setting dry vegetation on fire to start a forest fire.
Several other European countries have sent planes and firefighters to help put out the fires in Greece.AP Photo/Michael Varaklas
Greece imposes forest fire prevention regulations, usually from early May to late October, restricting activities such as burning dry vegetation and the use of outdoor barbecues.
By Friday, fire officials had arrested 163 people on fire-related charges since the start of the fire prevention season, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said, including 118 for negligence and 24 for arson.
Police have made 18 more arrests, he said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
