The first major fire of the year
The firefighting season started in earnest in Greece this week as temperatures rose to the mid-30s, reaching 40C in some places. The first major fire of the year, on the island of Chios, appears to have started on five different fronts on Sunday and burned through 40,000 stremmata of forest and agricultural land before being got under control on Wednesday. At its height more than 400 firemen with 14 firefighting helicopters and four aircraft were deployed to different locations on the island.
The outbreaks in several different locations aroused suspicions of arson, and official investigations are under way. Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Giannis Kefalogiannis told the media: “When fires break out simultaneously in so many scattered locations, we must speak of suspicious activity. … Anyone who thinks they can play with citizens’ lives and cause chaos with premeditated actions will be brought before justice.”
On Tuesday a 32-year-old Georgian woman who had just arrived on the island to work as a domestic help was arrested and charged with unintentional arson, when a cigarette she had discarded was found to have caused an outbreak of fire which destroyed some 800 stremmata. Found guilty on Thursday she received the minimum sentence for the charge – three years in jail and a fine of €10,000 euros.
A fire which started on Friday at Palaia Fokia south of Athens and ended up completely destroying three houses, was found to have started when fallen power lines caused dried vegetation to ignite on an uncleared plot. The incident highlighted the reasons for the government’s insistence on citizens clearing their plots of land of rubbish, dried leaves and other potentially flammable materials.
Code red alert for Crete
The combination of high winds and high temperature can cause fires to spread rapidly from even a small spark, and Crete along with several others areas has been upgraded to code Red – Risk Level 5: “alarm state” – on the fire risk map of the Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil protection for today, Sunday 29th June. While temperatures are not due to rise above 30 degrees, winds of up to 10 Beaufort have been forecast for the Lasithi area. In Kolymbari locally they are forecast at 26km/h, gusting to 56km/h, during the day. The Samaria Gorge is closed and access is forbidden to vulnerable areas in all parts of the island, in accordance with the established protocols for the threat level.
Civil Protection measures for level 5 areas
An article on the Haniotika Nea website lists the regulations which apply in areas classified at risk level 5, noting that according to an announcement by the Civil Protection Service of Crete, “All the Services and Technical Resources of the civil protection mechanism are fully mobilised and deploying the required personnel, materials and resources.”
Citizens are reminded that the following are prohibited:
– burning and the use of fire on remnants of cultivation, grassland etc.
– smoking of bees in beehives
– execution of heat-generating work (welding, cutting wheels etc)
– the use of open-air barbecues
– the use of Sky Lanterns (small hot air balloons carrying messages)
– the use of fireworks
Also as a precautionary measure, there is a ban on the access, staying and circulation of people and wheeled traffic in vulnerable forest areas in regions at high risk of fire, in NATURA areas, as well as in forest ecosystems, parks and greens and other sensitive areas in the Region of Crete, as have been designated by the relevant Deputy Regional Governors.
The published list includes areas in all four Nomos, those listed for Regional Unit of Chania being as follows:
1. European footpath E4 Balos-Falassarna, Municipality of Kissamos
2. European footpath E4 Krios-Elafonisi, Municipality of Kandanos-Selino
3. European footpath E4 Sougia-Gialiskari, Municipality of Kandanos-Selino
4. European footpath E4 Sougia-Agia Roumeli, Municipalities of Kandanos-Selino and Sfakia.
5. Windmill Park at Kathiana, Municipality of Chania
6. Prevantorio pine forest, Municipality of Chania
7. Peri-urban forest, Agios Matthaios, Municipality of Chania
8. Agios Ioannis Forest, Municipality of Gavdos
9. Korfou Forest, Municipality of Gavdos
10. Samaria Gorge, Municipalities of Sfakia, Platanias, Kandanos-Selino.
11. Track to Balos Lagoon, Municipality of Kissamos
12. Imbros Gorge, Municipality of Sfakia
13. Aradaina Gorge, Municipality of Sfakia
14. Topolia Gorge, Municipality of Kissamos
15. Diktamo Gorge, Municipality of Chania
16. Kedrodasos, Municipality of Kandanos-Selino
17. Anidri Gorge, Municipality of Kandanos-Selino
18. Agia Eirini Gorge, Municipality of Kandanos-Selino
19. Road to Kallergi-Poria refuge, municipality of Platanias.
Civil protection maps of the restricted areas can be found at https://www.crete.gov.gr/chartes-politikis-prostasias/. People who live or work in the areas in question are exempt from the above restrictions. Civil protection guides can be found at https://www.civilprotection.gr/el/dasikes-pyrkagies
Emergency telephone numbers
199 Fire Service
112 European Emergency number
1591 Monitoring of the application of Forestry Policy
100 Hellenic Police
108 Coastguard
166 Ambulance Service
(Haniotika Nea, 29/06/25)