In the fierce crucible of West Attica, Rhodes, and Lefkochoma in Lakonia, an epic endeavour is unfolding, as firefighting forces muster all their might from the land, and the skies. Lt-Colonel Yiannis Artopoios, from the Hellenic Fire Force talked about the herculean effort to Greek media.

Lt-Colonel Artopoios said that the combined, civil, and emergency forces of the working with regions and municipalities “are expending great efforts to limit the fires that are out of control. Conditions have become extreme and create active fire fronts.” He noted that another two airplanes were added to firefighting forces by Israel on Thursday.

He said that residents of the areas of Agia Sotira, Paleokoundoura, Panorama, Paleochori (West Attica) were notified by the 112-emergency SMS at 4:25pm to evacuate toward Inoi, north of Dervenochoria’s fire, while another message at 5:40pm called on Inoi residents to evacuate toward Erythres, further north and closer to Thebes.

Agios Ioannis Korakas residents in West Attica were also asked to evacuate to Mandra, further south toward Elefsina. In the West Attica area there are 11 firefighting airplanes and 11 helicopters, including the four aircraft provided by Italy and France to Greece through the EU’s RescEU mechanism, Lt-Colonel Artopoios said.

There are new fronts in the Lakonia region (south of Sparta) southeast of Lefkochoma, which are being fought by strong land forces as well as four aircraft and one helicopter.

On Rhodes, there are multiple new fronts on the mountain range in the centre of the island, and three aircraft with two helicopters are operating there.

Greece ablaze

In Greece there were 62 forest fires in the last 24 hours, most of which were put out early on, he said, while he warned of the forecast for temperatures rising to new highs as of Thursday through Sunday, and the high threat of fire in all of Greece.

The fire in Laconia seems under Lt-Colonel Artopoios told news agencies but warned that there is an active spot towards the eastern part of the fire.

“Throughout the night, earthmoving machines of the Region and the Armed Forces will try to cut off the front while opening firebreaks,” said the Lt-Colonel.

Five evacuation warnings were issued via SMS to residents in Agia Sotira, Paleokoundura, Panorama, Paleochori, Agios Ioannis Korakas, Kiafa, and Agios Panteleimon.

300 firefighters with 122 vehicles and hiking teams have been trying to bring the fire in Attica under control, while 11 aircraft and 11 helicopters, including four aircraft from Italy and France provided to Greece by the European Civil Protection Mechanism, assisted from the air.

Forces on the ground continue to work overnight to open firebreaks. The Greek Armed Forces are also involved in the battle against the fires.

The Hellenic National Defence General Staff has deployed 110 personnel to assist in firefighting, as well as 14 earth movers and project machinery with their operators, who continue to work even during the night to open firebreaks in the field of operations.

The Hellenic Coast Guard has deployed six boats that patrol marine areas where there are fires. The Hellenic Police Force has also deployed 120 vehicles with 292 personnel to facilitate both evacuations and property protection and the movement of firefighting vehicles.

High risk areas

The five high-risk areas include:

The Region of Attica

Region of Central Greece (PE Boeotia, PE Evia)

In the Region of Peloponnese (PE Corinthia, PE Argolida)

In the Region of South Aegean (PE Rhodes)

The North Aegean Region (Samos and Ikaria)

The Hellenic Fire Service has appealed to all citizens to be careful and pointed out that extreme conditions were expected through Friday and the weekend.

“We are faced with a combination of extreme weather phenomena that often exceed us. We point out that most fires are, unfortunately, caused by negligence,” according to Lt-Colonel Artopoios.

Authorities have arrested three men in Crete for carrying out work that caused fires in the areas of Mikra Anogia in Rethymnon, Vagionia Gortyna in Heraklion, and Sitia.

60 buildings have been deemed too dangerous for use.

A total of 151 inspections of fire-impacted buildings were carried out by teams from the General Secretariat for Natural Disasters and State Relief in Saronikos, Loutraki – Perachora – Ag. Theodoron, Megareon, and Mandra – Idyllia. From the 151 inspections in the fire-affected areas of the four municipalities mentioned above, so far, 60 buildings are classified as dangerous for use, 48 are classified as unsuitable for use until they are repaired, and 43 are classified as suitable for use with a need for minor repairs.

Climate disaster

Lt-Colonel Artopoios said that as of last night, there is no active front in the wider West Attica region. However, he expressed concern over extreme conditions and could not exclude the risk of further fires. Until Thursday noon Greek time, the fire fronts seemed in control; however, according to the Vice-Admiral, the reignitions in West Attica, Rhodes, and Laconia were caused by extreme weather conditions.

The Greek meteorological service warned of a high risk of fire this week, just as the country is recovering from the first major heatwave of the summer. It is also predicting more extreme weather to come. The EU’s climate observatory says the world is likely to record the hottest July since records have been kept. “The first 15 days of July have been the warmest 15 days on record,” Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), told the AFP news agency. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) recently said preliminary global figures showed last month was the hottest June on record.

Climate scientists agree that the current heatwaves are being exacerbated and made more frequent by human-made global warming driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels.

*With AMNA