Wildfires in Greece

Greece was on alert over the spread of fires due to very high temperatures, reaching 40 degrees Celsius in places, but also due to strong winds.

The General Secretariat of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection said Attica was in risk category 5 for the first time this year.

A fire was blazing between the Megalopolis of Arcadia in the Peloponnese. Due to the danger, residents were sent an alert message to move away. 

Another fire broke out in a forest area in Argolida, also in the Peloponnese. Residents were also warned to abandon the area. 

Another fire broke out in Souniou and Anavyssos in East Attika.

Firefighters, helicopters, and firefighting aircraft operate in all affected areas. Due to the increased fire risk, parks and groves in the Attica region remain closed.

Greece reported a significant improvement in the situation around forest fires. The vast majority of fires were under control, firefighters said.

Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said the island of Rhodes, where up to 30,000 people had to be evacuated in recent days, was a safe destination, and life there was returning to normal. 

However, the risk of further fires remains high due to the weeks-long drought.

Following a series of heatwaves and wildfires over Europe, wildfires in Greece started on 17 July. 

A wildfire that started on the Greek island of Rhodes on 18 July led to the evacuation of four locations, including two seaside resorts. 

According to the Fire Corps spokesman, approximately 2,000 people, including tourists, were safely evacuated by sea, accounting for less than 10% of the island's tourist accommodations. 

The Greek government established a Crisis Management Unit to respond to the situation.

The highest temperatures reaching 41.0 °C (105.8 °F), with highs anticipated to reach 45.0 °C (113.0 °F) in Rhodes. 

The causes of the fire remain unclear, but authorities say they have rounded up several suspects they believe may have been implicated in the fires. Local media have reported testimony of locals incriminating a band of men who sped off on motorbikes from the site of the first fire.

They said the crackling sounds of grenade explosions sounded minutes before the first fire emerged in the heart of Rhodes.

Police investigators told VOA no arrests had been made. Still, they said they were "closing in," as they put it, on the potential suspects.

Fires also broke out on the island of Evia.
On Evia, the authorities ordered the inhabitants of four southern villages to evacuate to the town of Karystos, to the west of which the fire was spreading.

In July, multiple wildfires started in Greece. They resulted in at least 28 deaths and injured 75 people, with over 80 wildfires being recorded. Seventy-nine people were arrested for arson.

On June 18, a fire broke out in the area of Gaia in Evia in the municipality of Kimi-Aliveri.
Greek authorities ordered the evacuation of the village of Kremastos as the flames approached houses nearby.
The Fire Service said that high winds make it difficult to contain the blaze.

The 2021 Greece wildfires were multiple wildfires in August, which killed three people, injured at least 20 others, and burned dozens of homes after a historic heatwave for the country, with the highest temperatures reaching 47.1 °C (116.8 °F). 

Authorities evacuated several villages and towns. According to BBC News, Greece experienced the worst heatwave since 1987. 

These fires were the worst in Greece since the 2007 Greek forest fires, which burnt more than double the area (270,000 hectares) of the 2021 fires (125,000 hectares).

The most extensive wildfires were in Attica, Olympia, and Messenia, and the most destructive were in northern Euboea, where ferries evacuated about 2000 people. 

The coastguard evacuated residents from different parts of Evia, which was linked to the mainland by a bridge.
Others fled their villages on foot overnight, walking along roads dotted with trees in flames. 

The World Meteorological Organization connected the fires with the regional heatwave and wildfire season made worse by climate change.

Several wildfires were also reported in multiple parts of the island of Crete.

A fire broke out on the island of Rhodes, resulting in a mass evacuation and leaving many people without power or water. 

The fire threatens the famed Valley of the Butterflies, the military base of Kalamona, and the village of Psinthos, all of which have been evacuated.

Firefighters warned residents of nearby villages and settlements to evacuate, as the fire was quickly gaining ground and could spread very easily.

Although many farms were destroyed, there were no casualties or burned homes. 

The World Meteorological Organization connected the fires with the regional heatwave and wildfire season made worse by climate change.

In July, multiple wildfires burned on the Greek island of Evia, requiring the evacuation of Makrichori, Neochori, Dafni, Gavalas, and Lofiskos.
 
Officials said a 64-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of starting the first fire by using a naked flame to burn dried weeds near his house.

A series of wildfires in Greece during the European heat wave began in the coastal areas of Attica in July.
One hundred four people were confirmed dead from the Mati fires. 

Over 700 residents were evacuated or rescued, mainly from the seaside settlements north of Rafina's port town, namely Kokkino Limanaki and Mati.

Μore than 4,000 residents were affected by the wildfires.
After the fires, flags atop the Acropolis and the Greek parliament flew at half mast. The European flags at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels also flew at half mast in honor of the victims. Many countries worldwide helped or offered aid to Greece.

The Chios Forest Fire was a wildfire that broke out in the southern half of the Greek island of Chios shortly after 2 a.m. on 18 August.

The blaze threatened the army base near Vessas. By the evening of 20 August, it was reported that nine villages had been evacuated as the fire continued to advance.

On August 20, local authorities reported that 7,000 hectares (16,000 acres) of forest and farmland had been destroyed. 

Official reports on August 20 added that many mastic trees in the "Mastichochoria" region had been burned, one of the few world sources of mastic resin used in food, cosmetics, and medicines. The beekeepers of Chios had lost 60 percent of their hives.

The Greek government had asked for the help of aircraft from Italy and Spain to help not only with this but six other forest fires that broke out elsewhere in Greece on 19 August and five more on 20 August.

On 18 August, smoke from the fire was visible as far south as Crete, 350 kilometers (230 miles) away.

The 2009 Greek forest fires were a series of massive wildfires that broke out across several areas in Greece during the summer.

The fires began in Grammatiko, about twenty-five miles northeast of the Greek capital, Athens, on 21 August and spread quickly towards the suburbs, engulfing fourteen towns within the next three days. 
Ten thousand residents of Agios Stefanos were asked to evacuate the area.

These fires are the worst since 2007, though no casualties have been reported.

The 2007 Greek forest fires were a series of massive fires that broke out in several areas across Greece throughout the summer. 

The most destructive and lethal infernos broke out on 23 August, expanded rapidly, and raged out of control until 27 August, until they were finally put out in early September. 

The fires mainly affected western and southern Peloponnese as well as south Euboea. The death toll in August alone stood at 67 people. In total, 85 people lost their lives because of the fires, including several firefighters.

Some of these firestorms are believed to result from arson, while others were merely the result of negligence. Hot temperatures, including three consecutive heat waves of over 40 °C (105 °F), and severe drought rendered the 2007 summer unprecedented in modern Greek history. 

From the end of June to early September, over 3,000 forest fires were recorded nationwide. Nine more people were killed in blazes in June and July.

A total of 2,700 square kilometers (670,000 acres) of forest, olive groves, and farmland were destroyed in the fires, which was the worst fire season on record in the past 50 years.

The Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 destroyed two-thirds of the city of Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, leaving more than 70,000 homeless. 

The fire burned for 32 hours and destroyed 9,500 houses within an extent of 1 square kilometer.