Firefighters Make Progress Against Wildfires Near Patras, Greece
Firefighters in Greece made headway Thursday in combating a wildfire on the outskirts of Patras, the country’s third-largest city, while air support targeted blazes on multiple fronts. The situation has improved at the key port city, which connects to Italy, following significant efforts overnight, confirmed fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, reports 24brussels.
In Patras, firefighters encountered “scattered” pockets of flames, although the fire remained “still active” in the eastern suburbs of the city, which has a population exceeding 200,000.
According to the EU’s Copernicus satellite monitoring program, the Athens national observatory reported Thursday that ongoing blazes in the Patras region, Chios, Zakynthos, and near Preveza have consumed over 10,000 hectares of land.
Authorities apprehended a 25-year-old male suspect in connection with one of four fires that ignited near Patras on Tuesday. In response to the escalating danger, officials evacuated a children’s hospital and a retirement home as the flames approached the western Greek city.
The wildfire devastated a customs tow yard late Tuesday, incinerating over 500 vehicles within it. Alexandros Dimitrakopoulos, a forestry professor at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, noted that forest fires in Greece are increasingly encroaching on urban environments. “We have seen it in the greater Athens area since 2021, now in Patras,” he stated during an interview with state TV ERT.
As firefighters continue to battle other significant blazes on Zakynthos, Chios, and near Preveza, approximately 600 ground crews and nearly 30 water-bombing aircraft have been deployed since dawn. Reduced wind intensity has facilitated firefighting efforts.
This summer, Greece has grappled with multiple major forest fires, exacerbated by high temperatures that scientists attribute to human-induced climate change.
