The wildfire in south-central Evia island ,raging over a large area for the second day with firefighters battling throughout the night to prevent it from spreading further, has been currently reported without active front.
Aerial firefighting units continue to operate to prevent potential flare-ups while reports mention that the wildfire caused damages to crops and infrastructure.
Before dawn residents of the Petries village received a new message from Greece’s emergency notification system, known as 112, with instructions to evacuate towards Aghioi Apostoloi and Kalamos, along the large island’s rugged eastern coast.
This came just hours after the previous 112 message of 1:30 AM, where residents in the sparsely populated villages of Klimaki and Liani Ammos were informed of the wildfire and instructed to evacuate towards Krieza.
At first light, aerial operations began with five airplanes and two helicopters to tackle the fire on Evia. The ground forces participating in the firefighting operation consist of 205 firefighters, 56 vehicles, 11 forest commando teams and volunteers.
Heavy machinery and water tankers from local authorities are also assisting the efforts.
According to the fire brigade, the wildfire in the southern one-third part of Evia broke out around 3:17 pm (Greek time) on Monday in a semi-forested and brush area between the regions of Petries and Krieza.
The fire front was within the triangle formed by the settlements of Petriés, Krieza, and Alonia while moving southward.
Unfortunately, Evia island is no stranger to fires, and is impacted almost every summer, and experienced a wildfire again in early June of this year.
Evia (classical Euboea) is the second largest island in the country, located just off the eastern seaboard of Greece, and easily accessible by car or ferry. The southern-most part of Evia is also known as being one of the two windiest spots anywhere in Greece, along with the adjacent island of Andros.
The densely pine-covered northern third of the island was devastated in August 2021 by a major wildfire at the time, which made international headlines.
