Escalating Wildfire Emergency in Greece: 96 Fires Reported, Ongoing Efforts to Contain the Flames

According to an announcement by the Fire Brigade, Greece is currently facing a total of 96 wildfires, with 51 of them erupting in the past 24 hours. Fortunately, the majority of these fires were quickly extinguished.

Providing an update on Friday evening, the Fire Brigade reported that the major fires that have plagued the country over the week have largely subsided, with the exceptions being the fires on the island of Rhodes and in northeastern Achaia prefecture. These areas are being closely monitored by strong firefighting forces, with periodic assistance from water bombers during daylight hours.

Efforts are also underway to contain rekindled fires in northeastern Corfu, with the assistance of 4 water bombers and 2 helicopters.

Meanwhile, Climate Crisis & Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias noted earlier on Friday that the fire risk factor dropped below the highest alert level of red for the first time in 15 days. In the latter ten days of this period, over 600 fires occurred, 10 of which were major. Kikilias attributed these incidents to extreme climate phenomena, including a severe heatwave, drought, and high winds.

Regarding preventative measures, Kikilias stated that an assessment will be conducted and potential changes will be considered once the current fire season concludes, in response to a question from the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) during the briefing.