About 300 firefighters, two water-dropping airplanes, and five helicopters are working on Sunday to extinguish a forest fire in Greece that has so far destroyed about 20 homes and injured eight people, according to authorities. The fire department reported that five villages have been evacuated and eight people have been taken to hospitals due to burns and respiratory problems since the fire broke out early Saturday near Patras in the Peloponnese, 210 km west of Athens.
The mayor of the nearby municipality of Aigialeia, Dimitris Kalogeropoulos, described the situation as a "massive disaster." He told the ANA news agency, "There is no official damage assessment yet, but about ten houses have burned in the Ziria area, in addition to barns and stables containing animals, which is a significant loss for the residents who depend on agriculture."
The municipality of Aigialeia provided emergency shelter on Saturday for people who fled from their villages. The local newspaper "Patras Times" reported that the flames have consumed about 30 homes, barns, and stables in the villages of Ziria, Kamaris, Achaia, and Labiri. A resident of Labiri told Greek television station SKAI, "We spent our night outside and were terrified of waking up without a home."
The coastal resort of Loggos was also evacuated, sending around one hundred residents and tourists to the nearby city of Aegio. Civil Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis, who visited the area on Sunday to assess the extent of the damage, stated that "the current situation is better than it was on Saturday." He added, "Hundreds of properties were saved thanks to the battle fought by firefighters against the flames. We will remain vigilant and support our citizens affected by this fire."
Hospitals in Patras and Aegio have been ordered to accommodate any injured, and the coast guard has been put on alert. The Civil Protection Agency reported that 58 forest fires broke out in the past 24 hours, most of which were quickly contained. The European Forest Fire Information System noted that 13,511 hectares have burned as of Sunday.
Greece witnesses forest fires every summer, but experts warn that climate warming increases the likelihood and intensity of these events. A heatwave has been sweeping the country since Friday, with temperatures ranging between 42 and 44 degrees Celsius, according to meteorological reports. A fire broke out on Mount Penteli, near Athens, a few days ago but did not result in casualties. A fire in the same area in July 2018 resulted in the deaths of over a hundred people, marking the worst toll recorded in Greece due to forest fires.
