Fire fighters rushed to Marathon, eastern Attica, to extinguish a blaze that broke out earlier on Wednesday. The outbreak comes only weeks after a devastating fire, which started in the nearby town of Varnavas, ravaged at least 10,000 hectares of precious woodland eventually reaching the Athens suburbs of Nea Pendeli and Halandri.
Commenting on the Greek government’s fire-fighting efforts this week, Citizen Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias confirmed that 1,430 hectares of woodland had been burned this year so far in some 4,500 fires.
A destroyed vehicle is seen in the yard of a burned house in Varnavas, near Athens, Greece, August 12, 2024. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
Over the last 20 years, said Kikilias, fires have burned 11,600 hectares of forest land in Greece every year.
“Despite the fact that 4,500 fires have broken out so far this year in the most difficult fire-fighting season in the last 40 years, the total area burned is 24% below the 20-year average,” the minister said in an interview to local media.
Kikilias went on to add that the season was still not over.
Meanwhile, according to Reuters, which cites data from Global Forest Watch, of the total fire-related forest losses in Attica since 2000, 74% happened from 2017 onward.
At the same time, the loss of woodland has raised the risk of flooding and led to higher temperatures, experts say.
The minister concluded that preventive measures will continue to be implemented into winter and added that the ministry is set to announce tenders for fire-fighting equipment and vehicles as well as recruitments.
