The wildfires that have been blazing through Greece for days now has left 20 people dead have prompted help from several European nations have sent water-dropping planes to join the fire-fighting efforts against the fires.
The largest active forest in Greece kept burning for a fifth day near the country’s Alexandroupolis as authorities tried to prevent a blaze on the northwestern fringe of Athens from burning homes and reaching the Parnitha national park.
Wildfires in Greece
Greece has seen 209 wildfires breakout over the last three days, as per fire department spokesperson Ioannis Artopios. The authorities have carried out evacuations in dozens of villages and the main hospital in Alexandroupolis.“Conditions remain difficult and in many cases extreme,” Artopios said.
Searching through the burnt areas in the Alexandroupolis region, authorities found the bodies of 18 people who were believed to be migrants in a forest on Tuesday. Another two people were found dead on Monday.
Evacuations were ordered for several areas as a widlfire which started on Tuesday raced up a mountain towards the national park, threatened a military base in the area and reached homes in the foothills.
Nations joining in firefighting efforts
While battling the fires with its limited resources, Greece asked other European nations for assistance. Germany, Sweden, Croatia and Cyprus have sent water-dropping aircraft while Romania and the Czech Republic sent dozens of firefighters and water tanks. More than 200 firefighters backed by volunteers, military and police forces, eight helicopters and seven planes, including two from Germany and two from Sweden, were battling the blaze.
In Turkey’s Canakkale province, strong winds were fanning a wildfire burning for a second day. Authorities evacuated an elderly care home and more than 1,250 people from nine villages and closed down a highway as a precaution. More than 80 people were treated in hospitals for the effects of smoke.
Sporadic fires were also being reported in Italy, which has been engulfed in a heatwave expected to extend into the weekend with temperatures above 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) in many cities. Forty firefighters and three aircraft were battling a brush fire that broke out early Wednesday on the outskirts of the Ligurian seaside town of Sanremo, a popular summer destination. No injuries or property damage were reported.
With their hot, dry summers, southern European countries are particularly prone to wildfires.
European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017.
(With AP inputs)