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.
Tag Archives: forest fires
Hiring of seasonal firemen extended
Every year the high temperatures and strong winds of the summer season cause a massive upsurge in forest fires, and as a result there is a demand for extra firefighters. In addition the effects of climate change are causing longer periods of high temperatures, which place extra demands on the firefighting services. Even during the cooler periods of autumn and spring, unseasonable temperatures can cause forest fires, as occurred in the middle of March, when a temporary no-fires period was declared in Crete from the 12th to the 18th of the month.
Continue readingManaging fire risks in Greece and Crete
As the end of summer approaches, the danger from forest fires is slowly receding, although September can still bring increased fire risks from high temperatures and high winds. This year has seen large numbers of forest fires across the country, but fewer on the scale of previous years. According to Global Forest Watch (www.globalforestwatch.org), the number of fires in Greece detected by the VIIRS satellite-based infrared imaging system is in the normal range for this year: “in Greece there have been 280 VIIRS fire alerts reported so far in 2024 considering high confidence alerts only. This total is normal compared to the total for previous years going back to 2012. The most fires recorded in a year was 2023, with 1,150.”
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