Hundreds of Greek firefighters, bolstered by waterbombing planes and volunteers, have made significant strides in containing a deadly forest blaze that raged for four days in southern Greece, authorities announced on Wednesday.
The inferno, which tragically claimed the lives of two local residents on Sunday, is reportedly receding. Firefighting forces are now concentrating on extinguishing scattered smaller fires within the devastated areas.
Satellite imagery released by Greece’s weather service indicates that the blaze has ravaged approximately 6,500 hectares of rugged, mountainous terrain in the Corinthia area of the Peloponnese region.
Authorities have identified a local beekeeper as the suspected source of the fire. He is believed to have accidentally ignited the blaze while smoking out hives to harvest honey, disregarding warnings against such activities due to the high wildfire risk. The man has been fined, and the case will be forwarded to judicial authorities.
The firefighting effort is substantial, with some 570 firefighters working tirelessly alongside 160 fire trucks and 11 aircraft. Assistance has come from fellow European Union members, with Italy and Croatia sending three aircraft following Greece’s request for help.
As a precaution, more than half a dozen villages were ordered to evacuate between Sunday and Tuesday. Thanks to the efforts of the firefighters, the flames were kept at bay outside these settlements. Several outlying buildings have been damaged, and a historic church in the area was gutted by the fire.
Greece, like other southern European countries, endures devastating and often deadly forest fires each summer. This year, a combination of climate change-related drought, unusually high spring temperatures, and intense summer heatwaves has led to a record of more than 4,500 blazes so far, many occurring outside the typical summer months when fires are expected.
On Wednesday, the fire service reported another forest fire in the Peloponnese west of Corinthia, in the mountainous Kalavryta area. More than 40 firefighters and four aircraft are battling this new blaze.
Reference(s):
Greek firefighters make progress in taming deadly forest blaze
cgtn.com
