Greece wildfires

European Union plans for the upcoming wildfire season include the deployment of hundreds of firefighters to the most vulnerable member states, as well as the creation of a firefighting aircraft fleet. 

When firefighters arrived at a blaze in a pine forest on the Greek island of Rhodes last July, flames were already leaping above the trees into the night sky. The volunteers needed to act fast, but dense vegetation on the forest floor blocked access.

The 2023 wildfire season in Europe was among the worst this century, according to a European Commission report published on Wednesday.

Last year, more than half a million (504,002) hectares, an area twice the size of Luxembourg, was scorched by wildfires, according to a report on Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2023 by the Commission's Joint Research Centre.

A fire broke out at noon on Monday in a forest area in southern Pelion, central Greece. Inhabited areas are not threatened.

The fire is burning an area with pine and holly trees in Vromoneri. 

The fire brigade reported 33 firefighters with 14 vehicles, a pedestrian team and two firefighting aircraft are on the mission. 

More than 600 firefighters, including reinforcements from several European countries and backed by a fleet of water-dropping planes and helicopters, were battling three major wildfires in Greece Sunday, two of which have been raging for days.

The Greek authorities report a significant improvement in the fire situation.

Tourists are warned to be careful in several areas of the country where strong winds are blowing.

There are no fire outbreaks near the Bulgarian border.

Greek fire department officials arrested two men on Saturday for allegedly deliberately starting wildfires as hundreds of firefighters battle blazes that have been blamed for 21 deaths.

Firefighters struggled Thursday against strong winds and hot, dry conditions to tame multiple wildfires ravaging Greece, including one in the country's northeast that officials say is the largest recorded in the European Union.

Firefighters struggled Thursday against strong winds and hot, dry conditions to tame multiple wildfires ravaging Greece, including one in the country's northeast that officials say is the largest recorded in the European Union.

Firefighters struggled Thursday against strong winds and hot, dry conditions to tame multiple wildfires ravaging Greece, including one in the country's northeast that officials say is the largest recorded in the European Union.