The deadly fire that broke out on Sunday morning, September 29th, and burned for four consecutive days is now under control. The fire, which has burned tens of thousands of acres of land, initially broke out in a forested area in Xylokastro, Corinth in the Peloponnese region of Greece and resulted in the tragic deaths of two men.
About 570 firefighters with 28 forestry teams and 160 vehicles, volunteers, volunteer civil protection teams, as well as water trucks of the Peloponnese Region and the General Staff of the National Defense, operated in the area alongside police forces.
From the air, twenty-four air aircraft were available to assist, nine of which were from Italy and one from Croatia. There were also fifteen helicopters, including four for coordination.
65,000 acres were burned down in Corinth
According to the latest data from the Copernicus Rapid Mapping Service and the European Forest Fire Observatory (EFFIS), the recent forest fire in Corinth affected approximately 65,000 acres as of the morning of Tuesday, October 1, 2024.
This year’s fire is the largest of this season, Meteo reports. In addition, since 2010, large fires in the region have burned more than 180,000 acres, an area that corresponds to 8 percent of the total area of the Corinthian region.
Bee smoking may have been the cause of the fire in Corinth
According to the first data of the Directorate for the Fight against Arson Crimes (DAEE), the devastating fire in Xylokastro, seems to have been started by bee smoking, which helps calm bees. The AIAE, as reported by APE-MPE, imposed an administrative fine on a man who used a bee smoker on the date of the fire on September 29, 2024 in Xylokastro Rozenas.
The man had been using smoke to subdue bees when the risk index in the area had been indicated to be level four. According to the above data, AIAE is gathering the necessary evidence for transmission to the competent judicial authorities in order to investigate criminal responsibility in relation to the fire.
EU sent firefighting planes to Corinth
Following Greece’s activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism earlier this week, the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre immediately mobilized three firefighting aircraft from the rescEU mechanism. The aircraft, mobilized from Croatia and Italy, have already arrived in Greece.
The EU has also launched emergency satellite mapping through the Copernicus system to provide maps to local authorities. The European Commission continues to monitor fire risk forecasting and is ready to mobilize more assistance if needed.
The Commission notes that, during the summer forest fire season, Greece had requested assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism twice, then receiving 5 firefighting planes, 2 helicopters, as well as 7 ground teams, 348 firefighters, and 115 vehicles.
