Efforts to extinguish forest fires continue for a third day in Alexandroupolis, Greece, on August 21, 2023, with ground and air interventions.
Ayhan Mehmet Anatolia Agency | Getty Images
Large wildfires were burning in Greece and Spain’s Canary Islands on Monday, with hot, dry and windy conditions hampering the efforts of hundreds of firefighters battling the blazes. Two of the fires have been burning for several days.
European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increase in the frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, citing 2022 as the second worst year for forest fire damage on record after 2017.
In Greece, the body of a man was removed from a sheep shed in an area in the central Viotia region that was evacuated as a forest fire loomed, authorities said. Local media reports that the man died of smoke inhalation while trying to save his cattle.
According to the fire department, two firefighters who were injured in a separate fire in the north of Kavala region are being treated in the hospital.
Strong winds fueled dozens of wildfires in several parts of the country, especially in the northeast. Evacuation orders were issued for villages in Alexandroupolis, Komotini, Kavala and Orestiada in the north, the central Viotia region and the island of Evia, while fire departments across the country were put on general alert.
The Coast Guard said 20 people were evacuated by private boats from the fire on the island of Kythnos, while patrol boats and private vessels were on standby for other potential evacuations from the fire areas in Viotia and Evia.
“The last 48 hours, unfortunately like the next 48 hours, have been exceptionally critical due to strong winds and high temperatures creating large fire fronts,” Climate Crisis and Civil Defense Minister Vasilis Kikilias said.
A fire truck drives along a road as a forest fire burns vegetation near Prodromos, 100 km northeast of Athens, on August 21, 2023.
Spyros Bakalis | AFP | Getty Images
He added that since midnight, 53 fires have broken out in the country, including 14 in the border region in the northeast of Evros alone. The government held an emergency meeting with the heads of the fire department, police, coast guard, armed forces and intelligence services.
Authorities banned public access to mountains and forests in several regions and ordered military patrols until Wednesday morning.
The largest active forest fire has destroyed forests and farmland for a third day near the northeastern city of Alexandroupolis, where 13 villages were evacuated and several houses destroyed at the weekend.
More than 200 firefighters, volunteers and armed forces are fighting the fire with the help of 17 water jets, said Deputy Fire Chief Ioannis Artopios, spokesman for the National Fire Service. Residents in Alexandroupolis were advised to keep their windows closed due to the smoke.
56 firefighters from Romania and two water tankers from Cyprus were on their way to Alexandroupolis, while 19 French firefighters were helping to extinguish the Evia fire.
Firefighters battle burning vegetation during a forest fire near Prodromos, 100 km northeast of Athens, on August 21, 2023.
Spyros Bakalis | AFP | Getty Images
Greece is plagued by devastating wildfires every summer, and officials say climate change has exacerbated it.
Greece’s deadliest forest fire of 2018 killed 104 people in a seaside resort near Athens. Authorities have since erred on the side of caution, ordering rapid mass evacuations when populated areas are threatened.
Last month, a forest fire on the resort island of Rhodes forced the evacuation of about 20,000 tourists. A few days later, two air force pilots were killed when their plane, which had gone into the water to fight a fire in Evia, crashed during a low landing. Three more wildfire-related deaths have been reported this summer.
A wildfire started last Tuesday in Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, continues to burn out of control, police said. More than 12,000 people were evacuated and about 13,400 hectares (33,000 acres) of pine forest and brush burned.
Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the fire region would be declared a disaster zone and funds would be allocated to reforest the island and compensate the affected people.
Efforts to extinguish forest fires continue for a third day in Alexandroupolis, Greece, on August 21, 2023, with ground and air interventions.
Ayhan Mehmet Anatolia Agency | Getty Images
“The worst is behind us,” Canary Island regional president Fernando Clavijo told Spain’s Cadena SER radio, adding that hundreds of firefighters had made progress.
The fire in the northeast of the island is not near any of the main tourist areas of the islands. The fire has approached about 10 municipalities, but so far there have been no injuries or burnt houses.
In Portugal and Italy, two other southern European countries that often experience summer wildfires, temperatures are forecast to rise this week.
On Monday, Italian authorities issued heat warnings for eight cities, from Bolzano in the north to Rome in central Italy, as temperatures were forecast to reach 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit). A storm warning is in effect for Calabria, Basilicata and southern Sicily.
In Portugal, temperatures were forecast to reach 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) in some southern parts of the country.