For 11 consecutive days, there has been an extensive fire raging in northeastern Greece. Even though lots of firefighters and planes have been trying to stop it, the fire keeps going without getting any weaker.
After burning through large areas of land, the fire in the Alexandroupolis and Evros region focused mainly on a forest close to the border with Turkey. This forest is hard to reach.
The wildfire in Greece last week was the largest in the EU since they started keeping records in 2000. It caused 20 out of the 21 deaths related to wildfires.
The fire department said that there were six planes and four helicopters helping 475 firefighters on the ground. They also had 100 vehicles supporting them. An additional 260 firefighters and a helicopter were fighting smaller fires that had started from a big fire in a forest on the southern part of Mount Parnitha, near the outskirts of Athens.
Officials are looking into why the fires destroyed a lot of forest, burnt houses, and made many people leave their homes.
In Athens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis led a government meeting to discuss ways to restore the damaged forests in Evros and Parnitha. It planned to locate all the places that had been burnt and need new trees. It also decided to take steps to avoid flooding later on. Additionally, it wanted to make sure that the animals living in the area have enough food and water.
Greece asked for help from other European countries because their firefighters are very busy. Europe sent 12 planes and many firefighters to assist Greece.
France and Spain are sending more airplanes to join the ones from Germany, Sweden, Croatia, Cyprus, and the Czech Republic as part of the EU’s emergency response system.
Over 350 firefighters from different countries, including Romania, France, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Albania, Slovakia, and Serbia, were sent to Greece.
The person in charge of handling crises in the European Union, Janez Lenarcic, said on Tuesday that this was the biggest firefighting mission ever done by the EU. It shows that we are determined to act quickly and effectively together during times of crisis.
The Alexandroupolis and Evros wildfire started on August. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service, a fire that occurred when a person was 19 years old has burned over 81,000 hectares (200,000 acres) of land. Copernicus is a part of the EU space program that looks at Earth and provides information using pictures from satellites.
The European Commission said on Tuesday that it is the biggest and most serious fire in Europe since 2000.
In Greece, firefighters were fighting against 74 wildfires on Monday. Out of these, 27 started between Sunday evening and Monday evening.
Officials believe that some of the fires were intentionally started, and a few individuals have been taken into custody.
Greece makes rules to prevent wildfires. These rules are in place from May to October. They say that people can’t burn dry plants or use outdoor grills.
As of Friday, the fire department arrested a total of 163 people for fire-related offenses. Out of those, 118 were charged with negligence and 24 with intentional arson. This information was shared by government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis. The police arrested 18 more people, he said.
Tag: Kyriakos Mitsotakis
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Wildfire in northern Greece continues for the 11th day despite firefighting efforts
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Greek Prime Minister makes a commitment to address long-standing railway issues
Following the nation’s bloodiest train catastrophe on record, which provoked widespread demonstrations, Greece’s prime minister has pledged to raise the safety standards of the nation’s railway system.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis once more expressed regret for the event from last month, when a passenger train carrying largely university students was involved in a collision with a freight train near the city of Larissa, resulting in 57 fatalities and scores more injuries.
In particular, but also on behalf of everyone who ran the nation for a long time, I reiterate my public apology,” Mitsotakis stated.
“I therefore assume responsibility. And we cannot, we do not want to, we must not hide behind a series of human errors,” he added.
The day after the deadly collision, Mitsotakis blamed “tragic human error,” sparking demonstrations against chronic faults in the railway system and demanding justice for the victims. In a change of tone, on Sunday he emphasized that Greece “cannot, will not, and must not hide behind human error.”
Speaking on Thursday, the Prime Minister promised “absolute transparency” and said that if the installation of digital control systems had been completed “this incident would have been practically impossible to have happened.”
The fact that this system “will be up and running in a few months from now is no excuse,” he added. “It makes my personal pain even greater as we didn’t get to install it before this tragic incident happened.”
Tens of thousands of people participated in protests organized by worker unions and student groups on Wednesday across major Greek cities, calling for government responsibility and better safety standards.
“This crime should not be covered up,” they chanted, holding signs with the names of those killed.
Further strikes are due in Greece to protest the fatal collision.
European Commission experts have met with the Greek government to discuss “the complete reorganization” of the Greek railway.
Mitsotakis said during the ministerial council that he has asked the commission for technical assistance and additional funding.
The Greek government was initially planning to hold elections in early April but is now widely expected to push it back until after Easter. Its term ends in July.