Firefighting

Bulgarian firefighters are leaving for Greece today to help deal with the raging large forest fires. Bulgarian firefighters are expected to assist the Greek ground firefighting teams in the area of Alexandropoulis.

Authorities are on high alert at the Kapota military camp in Menidi, situated to the west of Athens, as flames edge closer to the perimeter from the camp's northern side.

Firefighting units are currently present at the scene, and helicopter operations are in progress. The potential for evacuation is being considered.

Two firefighters were injured, and a fire engine was damaged at the wildfire that broke out earlier on Monday at a forest area in Dialechto, Kavala in northern Greece.

According to sources, one of the firefighters suffers from burns on the face and the other on the hands. Both have been transferred to the hospital.

Firefighting forces continue to battle the blaze that broke out the day before in Melia Alexandroupolis on Sunday. A total of 48 fire engines with a 176-member crew, 10 teams of firefighters on foot assisted by seven firefighting aircraft and four helicopters, four of them holding a coordinating role, area operating in the area.

Eleven large-scale fires in the Attica Region from 2017 to the end of July 2023 have destroyed over 55,000 hectares (550,000 stremmas), the National Observatory of Athens/meteo.gr said on Monday after data provided by the European Union's Copernicus mapping services and the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

Authorities on Monday reported that a wildfire, which broke out in a forest area near the village of Ardeia in the region of Rodopi in northern Greece, has been successfully contained. However, firefighting efforts were still ongoing on Mount Olympus to extinguish another wildfire blazing through a pine forest in a challenging and inaccessible location near the village of Karya.

Despite some efforts to downplay the Rhodes wildfire disaster, the 20,66 hectares of forest and farmland that burned have left an indelible mark on the island.

A fire broke out near the settlement of Diefcha in the northwestern part of the island of Chios, late on Sunday

As a precautionary measure, a message was sent to the residents of Diefcha and nearby Katavasi through the emergency number 112, instructing them to relocate to the village of Volissos.

The firefighting forces in the region received early reinforcements on Monday.

Firefighting teams have been struggling to contain a massive wildfire in the southern province of Antalya's Kemer district for the second consecutive day, as authorities have informed that approximately 180 hectares of land have been reduced to ashes as of late July 25, with extreme temperatures scorching Türkiye and the region.

Unfortunately, this summer has again confirmed that fires are a permanent and constant challenge, while experts warn that the worst is yet to come in terms of the frequency and destructiveness of natural disasters.

Strengthening the firefighting force is certainly indicated, but experience has shown us that it is not enough.