More than 11,100 hectares have burned in the two main fires ravaging Greece, specifically in Boeotia and Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, according to the latest information released by the Greek authorities.
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“According to the analysis of satellite data from the European Copernicus EMS mechanism (Emergency Management Service), at 12:05 on Sunday (local time), approximately 30,900 stremmas (3,090 hectares) have burned in the Boeotia fire and approximately 80,800 stremmas (8,080 hectares) in the Porto Germeno fire, Attica (which is still active),” the National Observatory of Athens reported in a publication.
Thus, noting a total of burned hectares exceeding 11,100, the institution indicated that it is “monitoring the evolution of the fires through satellite data and forecast models of pyrometeorological conditions.”
For his part, the Director of Strategic Planning and Communication of the Fire Department Headquarters, Vasilios Vatrakoyanis, appeared on Sunday afternoon from the National Operations Coordination and Crisis Management Center in Marousi to report on the response to the fires.
Noting “extremely difficult conditions” marked by “strong winds (that) persist for the fifth consecutive day,” Vatrakoyanis noted the deployment of dozens of aerial resources—planes and helicopters—throughout the day, as well as tanker trucks from the regions of Attica and Central Greece and “construction machinery” that “continues clearing areas affected by the fire, in collaboration with the Forestry Service, and in several cases has managed to contain the fire fronts.”
The past week has been especially problematic for the firefighting response capabilities of the Greek authorities, as the Fire Department official pointed out, “from Monday, July 27 until today (Sunday), a total of 220 agricultural and forest fires have been recorded across the country.”
Among the actions taken, the “33 arrests” made by the Greek authorities “in five days” stand out, 30 of them for negligence and three for intent. “Additionally, 22 administrative fines totaling 70,100 euros have been imposed,” added Vatrakoyanis.
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The Fire Department official pointed to multiple “cases related to hot work, mainly with heavy machinery, on days of high or extreme fire risk.”
Specifically, in the case of Boeotia, the start of the flames began near a wind farm, although not on the turbines nor on the park’s facilities.
“The point of origin was identified as the power transmission line, 500 meters from the wind turbines, through which the energy produced by the wind farm is channeled to the central power grid,” he specified, before recalling that “at the end of June a fire had already occurred at that same point.”
Given this situation, he emphasized that several investigative teams from the Arson Division “are deployed at all serious incidents (…) carrying out investigations rigorously, with scientific documentation and a systematic evaluation of all available evidence, as well as conducting frequent patrols throughout the territory.”
“The fire risk remains very high”, the authority stressed, warning that “we are perhaps going through the most difficult days of the summer.”
At the same press conference, he expressed his condolences to the families of the two crew members who died in a helicopter that collided with another while fighting the flames. The deceased are the Danish pilot and the Greek coordinator of one of the aircraft. There are two other injured, the British pilot and the Greek coordinator of the second helicopter, transferred to the General Hospital of the 251st Air Force with reserved prognosis.
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