Greece Wildfires Force Evacuations, Destroy Homes Near Zante and Cefalonia

A wave of wildfires in Greece forced repeated evacuations and destroyed homes and commercial activity, with strong winds hampering firefighting operations in areas including Zante and Cefalonia.

“- Published Two people have been found dead as an out-of-control wildfire burns in northern Greece, forcing residents of a nearby village to evacuate”

BBC

In the Peloponnese, an out-of-control blaze reached the suburbs of Patrasso and triggered the evacuation of more than twenty centers, an pediatric hospital, and a nursing home, while the BBC reported the smell of burnt wood spreading to central Athens.

BBC

In northern Greece, the BBC said two people were found dead near Liti, about 15km (nine miles) north-west of Thessaloniki, as more than 100 firefighters, dozens of fire engines, and at least seven aircraft tried to contain a fire described as a wall of flame some 5km long.

The RaiNews report said temperatures were over 40 degrees and that in Spain, new evacuations were carried out in Extremadura, Castile and León, and Galicia, while more than 10 thousand people were kept away from home as fires continued to evolve.

RaiNews also described an emergency message to residents in Cabezabellosa (Cáceres), in Estremadura, telling them: “Deve rimanere confinato in casa con porte e finestre chiuse finché non sarà possibile aprire una via di evacuazione sicura”.

Greece’s firefighting response included international assistance through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, with the Vigili del fuoco Tv report saying that 32 Italian firefighters arrived at the port of Igoumenitsa and were transferred toward eastern Attica.

The same report said two Canadair, identified as “CAN15” and “CAN24,” operated from Elefsis airport and carried out missions in Maratona and Nea Macrì, while the mission was described as ending with 13 hours of flight and 52 water drops.

Courrier international

The BBC TG24 report said the Greek climate crisis and civil protection minister Giannis Kefalogiannis warned: “Abbiamo vigili del fuoco feriti, vite umane sono state messe a rischio, proprietà sono state bruciate e aree forestali sono state distrutte”.

In parallel, il Giornale reported that Greece requested four firefighting aircraft through the European Civil Protection Mechanism and that Vasilis Vathrakogiannis said authorities were tackling 106 fires, including 63 that broke out today.

Il Giornale also said there were “serious suspicions of deliberate arson” in areas including Epirus and Aetolia-Acarnania, as the Hellenic Fire Service spokesman described the investigation.

Beyond immediate containment, Le magazine GEO reported that after fires a new threat weighs on Greek trees, describing how the Greek fir in the Peloponnese had previously withstood drought, parasites, and wildfires.

“Sette grandi incendi, principalmente nell'ovest, hanno costretto a ripetute evacuazioni, distruggendo case e attività commerciali”

Euronews

The article said that Dimitrios Avtzis, senior researcher at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Elgo-Dimitra, noted hundreds of hectares lost not only in the fire itself but also in “vast dead and dying zones” where flames had not reached.

Le magazine GEO tied the tree decline to climate-driven drought and insect pressure, stating that “bark beetles had taken advantage of it” and that they tunnel under bark and prevent trees from circulating water and nutrients.

In the same report, Nikos Markos, a forest climatologist at the FRI, said recovery after a fire can be “quite satisfactory,” but that it is “slow and uneven” and may take four or five years to observe.

Meanwhile, Courrier international framed the broader pattern of recurring disasters, quoting EfSyn’s accusation that “The Mitsotakis government, with its policies, is turning Greece into a desert country,” as images of burned land and evacuated residents circulated.