Athens, July 19, (dpa/GNA) – Greek firefighters continued on Wednesday, to battle three major fire fronts for the third consecutive day, with the fire brigade unable to give the all-clear for forest fires to the west of Athens.
Five firefighting aircraft and eight firefighting helicopters, had been deployed in the region since daybreak, a fire brigade spokesman said.
Further west still, near the town of Loutraki, four firefighting planes and three helicopters took to the air to fight another blaze, according to the fire service.
Northeasterly winds are expected to pick up in the region, during the course of the day, making firefighting operations far more difficult and potentially rekindling the fires.
A forested area was also in flames on the island of Rhodes, a popular holiday destination. However, houses and villages were reportedly not threatened.
The forest is burning in the middle of the island near the village of Apollona, and covers an area of around 30 hectares, according to the fire brigade – the equivalent of around 30 football pitches.
It has not rained in Greece for some time. Last weekend, a heatwave lasting several days intensified the drought. By the coming weekend, temperatures are expected to rise again to over 40 degrees Celsius in many places.
Greece is likely to suffer from a growing number of wildfires, and increasingly extreme heat and drought, meteorologist Theodoros Giannaros of Athens National Observatory warned.
“Tomorrow the risk of fires may go down a little, but by the weekend it will be very high again,” Giannaros told state broadcaster ERT, referring to a coming heatwave.
He said the new heatwave would likely hit on Thursday, and peak at the weekend, with local temperatures expected to reach 44 degrees.
The heatwave will then recede on Monday, but strong winds are epxected alongside the high temperatures, leading to “hot, dry, windy” conditions where any spark can potentially cause a massive fire, as winds fuel embers and flames, blowing sparks further afield.
Giannaros, who specializes in weather and fires, described the deadly conditions as hot, dry and windy, saying they recalled the situation in 2021, when wildfires destroyed thousands of hectares of forest and lands. “The worst is still ahead of us,” he warned.
GNA