Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis went on television late on Monday to apologise to the public for any mistakes and failures in fighting the devastating wildfires ripping across the country – more than 580 in recent days.
“I fully understand the pain of our fellow citizens who saw their homes or property burned,” he said, while calling for unity and describing the fires as a “natural fury without precedent”.
“Any failures will be identified. And responsibility will be assigned wherever necessary.”
Mr Mitsotakis promised reforestation following the fires and said climate defences would be fortified, while stating that “the unprecedented heatwave and prolonged drought” are making the fires hard to extinguish.
Greece’s Civil protection Deputy Minister Nikos Hardalias has said that water bombers are currently dealing with turbulence, thick smoke and limited visibility making the fire-fighting efforts particularly daunting.
Meanwhile, fires are burning unabated in many regions for the seventh day, with the largest at the moment being on the island of Evia, just off the mainland of Athens.
Κράτα Ελλάδα μου γερά! 🇬🇷#PrayForGreece #fires #greece pic.twitter.com/yMU7qEpzS7
— Μανώλης Κυριάκου (@ManosKyriacou) August 6, 2021
Evia
The fire in Evia began on 3 August, ripping through the second largest island of Greece filled with forested mountains and canyons.
Firefighters from Greece, volunteers and residents as well as manpower from abroad are battling against the fire which is in danger of reaching towns after already having destroyed scores of homes and businesses.
At the moment the focus is on a wildfire between the villages of Galatsades and Avgaria, raising fears that it will reach the resort town of Edipsos, known for its mineral spas. Another region in danger is the picturesque town of Orei, where residents are asking for more ground and air forces as the strength of the fire has not diminished.
Eerie images have been broadcast as people battled a huge wall of flames with winds flaring fuel ups, a few km from the town of Istaia. Though Avgaria has been evacuated, many determined residents remained steadfast to protect their homes said one local official.
Residents from other areas of Evia have arrived to help, as people in threatened villages are trying to keep the flames from reading their courtyards.
READ MORE: Fire appeals: Greece is burning, and the diaspora rallies to help
“The villages are being evacuated,” Regional Director of Central Greece Fanis Spanos told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, “but staying behind are those who can help, and up to now they have offered invaluable help – without such people, a lot of villages would have been burned.”
Sitting at a café in the seaside town of Pefki in Evia, 77-year-old Makis Ladogiannakis told SBS that “the fire was the biggest catastrophe for the village”.
“People lived off the resin production and the olive trees,” he said. Nearby, a ferry waited to evacuate more locals and tourists to safety if needed.
Drone footage published on Monday by Greek photography and videography team Up Stories documents the extent of the damage caused by a days-old wildfire on Evia, Greece’s second-largest island.
EU aid
An updated list of the aid Greece received by European Union member states and third countries was provided by the General Secretariat for Civil Protection on Monday.
In a statement, the civil protection authority noted that it activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism (RescEU) from the first moment the fires began to unfold in Greece, at 21:30 on 3 August.
A total of 21 airborne means of assistance, 1,286 firefighters and 250 vehicles were provided to Greece.
Below is the detailed list of the aid sent by countries participating in RescEU:
- Cyprus: 2 Air-Tractor aircraft and 40 firefighters (4 August)
- France: 2 Canadair CL-415 aircraft (6 August), 1 Canadair CL-415 aircraft (7 August), 82 firefighters (5 August), while an additional ground team of 161 people and 59 vehicles are expected on 11 August
- Croatia: 1 CL 415 aircraft (6 August)
- Sweden: 2 Air-Tractor aircraft (6 August)
- Romania: 108 firefighters with 21 fire engines (7 August)
- Spain: 1 Canadair CL aircraft 415 (7 August)
- Czech Republic: 13 vehicles and 34 firefighters (8 August)
- Poland: 143 firefighters with 46 vehicles (expected arrival, 9 August)
- Slovakia: 75 firefighters with 30 fire engines (expected arrival, 9 August)
- Germany: 2 divisions of 221 people with 46 vehicles (expected arrival, 10& 11 August)
- Austria: 36 firefighters with 15 vehicles (expected arrival, 10 August)
The list below details the aid sent by non-EU countries:
- United States: 1 P-8 reconnaissance aircraft
- Russia: 2 Ilyushin-76 aircraft, 2 Mi8 helicopters
- Ukraine: 100 firefighters (6 August)
- Israel: 16 firefighters (6 August) and 2 Air-Tractor aircraft (10 August)
- Switzerland: 3 helicopters (7 August)
- Egypt: 2 helicopters (7 August)
- United Kingdom: 21 firefighters (8 August)
- Serbia: 34 firefighters and 13 vehicles (expected arrival, 8 August), 3 helicopters (expected arrival, 9 August)
- Kuwait: 40 firefighters and equipment (expected arrival, 9 August)
- Qatar: 66 firefighters and 3 vehicles (8 August), another 66 firefighters (expected arrival, 9 August)
- Moldova: 25 firefighters and 4 vehicles (expected arrival, 10 August)
- United Arab Emirates: 1 helicopter (expected arrival, 10 August) and equipment (expected arrival, 13 August)
- The Mytilineos Group donated 4 leased Bell 214-B1 helicopters for 60 days to fortify the firefighting efforts. The General Secretariat for Civil Protection noted that it was “an important initiative to strengthen the country’s air fleet”.
- Furthermore, a member of staff from the European Commission also arrived at the Greek civil protection headquarters on 6 August.
Οι Ρουμάνοι πυροσβέστες ετοιμάζονται να συνδράμουν στην Εύβοια εντός των επόμενων ωρών. #φωτια #πυρκαγια pic.twitter.com/2mfCb9y2Qn
— Fire Fighting Greece (@FightingGreece) August 7, 2021
Greece’s request to Russia for the emergency dispatch of additional aid by air to fight wildfires has been approved by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Embassy in Greece said via a social media post on Monday.
In its post on Twitter, the Russian Embassy mentioned that Greece’s request had been put through earlier on Monday by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and by Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias to their respective Russian counterparts Mikhail Mishustin and Sergey Lavrov. They had reportedly also asked for a second Beriev-200 water-dowsing aircraft.
Russia’s response, in practical terms, will be immediate, noted the Russian Embassy.
✈️ Με απόφαση του Προέδρου Βλαντίμιρ Πούτιν, το αίτημα για έκτακτη αποστολή επιπλέον εναέριων μέσων πυρόσβεσης από τη Ρωσία, που μετέφεραν πριν από λίγο ο Πρωθυπουργός Κ.Μητσοτακης και ο ΥΠΕΞ Ν.Δενδιας στους Ρώσους ομολόγους τους, έγινε δεκτό.
Η ανταπόκριση θα είναι άμεση. pic.twitter.com/sMCMH46BAr— Rus Embassy, Greece (@RFEmbassyGr) August 9, 2021
Apart from a Beriev-200 aircraft currently flying over several wildfires in Greece, Russia has so far dispatched 2 Ilyushin-76 aircraft and 2 Mi8 helicopters to Greece.
Φωτό πριν από μια ώρα πετώντας πάνω από #Βαρυμπόμπη. Φαίνεται η Ιπποκράτειος Πολιτεία στην άκρη του δυτικού μετώπου και τα καμμένα δίπλα στο αεροδρόμιο Τατοΐου #τατοι #Ιπποκρατειος_Πολιτεια #Greece #wildfire #wildfires #fire #πυρκαγια #πυρκαγιες #αθηνα pic.twitter.com/f6koG2ZEyP
— 𝙺𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚜 𝙺𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚜 (@KallergisK) August 6, 2021
