A forest fire on Crete is raging for the second day on Thursday despite the efforts of more than 200 firefighters. Authorities were forced to evacuate one village and prepare others for evacuation.
At noon, an emergency message was sent to the residents of three settlements in the Rethymno district of western Crete—Apodoulou, Agios Ioannis, and Nithavri—to be ready to evacuate if needed.
No reports of damage to homes from forest fire on Crete
According to information from the fire department, there was no single active front, but scattered outbreaks that are being dealt with by the reinforced forces.
The fire service said on Wednesday that 222 firefighters were battling the flames, including 32 flown in from other parts of Greece.
There were no immediate reports of damage to homes or injuries, but the small village of Agia Paraskevi was evacuated as a precaution. The fire raged through scrub and olive groves, driven on by high winds.
Wildfire season is in full swing in Greece
More than 2,000 wildfires have erupted all over Greece this summer, which authorities have warned carries the highest fire risk in the past two decades. That’s because a mild, dry winter followed by a dry, hot spring has left vegetation across the country tinder-dry, enabling flames to spread fast.
Last winter was the warmest since modern records began being kept in 1960, according to the National Observatory of Athens, which analyzed European Union satellite data. The six warmest Greek winters on record have occurred in the past decade.
Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias in a recent interview with Open TV, highlighted the government’s commitment to ensuring citizen safety. “We are obligated, as an organized state, to provide specific measures for our citizens. I want to make it clear that everything being done is for the value of human life, to protect, assist, and ensure people feel safe,” he stated.
Regarding this year’s fire season, Kikilias noted significant changes, including the deployment of aircraft equipped with firefighting capabilities over Attica and the use of drones for nationwide monitoring.
He emphasized the importance of a collective and coordinated effort. “The Fire Service, the Forestry Department, forest rangers, volunteers, local government, police, and military personnel are all part of the new doctrine for wildfire management and are making a difference,” he added.
Two hundred and forty firefighters from Bulgaria, Malta, Moldova and Romania have been deployed in Greece this summer.
Alongside their Greek colleagues, the deployment is part of a program implemented for the third year via the European Civil Protection Mechanism.
The European firefighters, with staffed firefighting vehicles, are deployed from early July to mid-September at three bases of operations, in Attica, Thessaloniki and Achaia.
Related: Google Extends Wildfire Detection Tool to Greece
