Two fires raging on the island of Evia off the east coast of mainland Greece for 2 days, and in Rethymnon in Crete have abated, according to the Fire Department.
Throughout the night, the Fire Department forces, Civil Protection, the Forestry Service, and volunteers battled to prevent the fire from spreading by using heavy land machinery to create firebreaks.
At the moment firefighters are trying to extinguish scattered spot fires still burning in the region of Pissonas in Evia.
The Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, and the leadership of the Fire Department are on-site. Ground forces, including 183 firefighters with 8 forestry teams and 52 vehicles, along with a large number of volunteers, are actively engaged.
Additionally, 11 fixed-wing aircraft and 8 helicopters, including 2 coordination helicopters have been deployed. Local authorities and the Armed Forces are also assisting with heavy machinery and water tankers.
In the last 24 hours, 45 new blazes were reported, with 37 of them promptly extinguished.
The fire in Evia broke out on Wednesday in the Pissonas area in the municipality of Dirfys-Messapia and spread quickly towards the village of Afrati, fueled by gale force winds sweeping through one of the few remaining pine forests central Evia, Greece’s second largest island, the northern part of which was devastated in August 2021 by wildfires burning for days.
Several other wildfires erupted on Wednesday, including one in Keratea, along the southeast tip of Attica prefecture; Kilkis and Xanthi, in north and northeast Greece, respectively; Serres, Thessaloniki, Kefalonia, and even in the urban district of Egaleo, west of downtown Athens.
