Greece faces a complex situation due to various forest fires during the peak tourist season, amid weather conditions described as “extreme” and winds frequently reaching 100 kilometers per hour, according to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Sunday.
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According to the information provided, thousands of people have had to be evacuated, while the flames are 35 kilometers from Athens.
Through a Facebook post, Mitsotakis stated that these days have been “extremely difficult” and explained that the wind intensity has limited aerial firefighting efforts.
“When the winds blow with such force, not even the dozens of aircraft we have can operate safely,” he said. He also added that “there are times when nature and the intensity of weather phenomena surpass any human planning and operational capacity.”
According to available information, the forest fire was declared on Thursday in the Boeotia region and has since spread about 40 kilometers eastward, reaching the capital region of Attica.
The fire’s advance has forced the evacuation of thousands of people from dozens of localities and on Sunday threatens the industrial area of the coastal town of Megara, located about 35 kilometers west of central Athens.
The deputy mayor of Megara, Dimitris Vordos, stated that the municipality has suffered significant environmental damage.
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“There has been enormous ecological damage in our municipality. A virgin forest, which had regenerated after the great fire of 1985, has been largely lost,” he said.
Additionally, the fire crossed the coastal town of Porto Germeno on Friday night, where, according to municipal sources cited in the report, more than one hundred homes were burned down.
One of the affected residents, farmer Minas Tsotdanis, recounted that the intensity of the fire prevented any attempt to stop the flames’ advance.
“The fire was too violent and the wind blew with incredible force. There was nothing to do but watch the fire. My house was completely destroyed,” he said.
The report states that, in one week, more than 16,000 hectares of forests and farmland have been devastated by the fires in Greece.
Meanwhile, the Greek Minister of Civil Protection, Evangelos Tournas, said on Saturday that firefighters have been “pushed to the limit.” The information adds that three firefighters have died fighting the fires, two of them in Crete and one in the Peloponnese.
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