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Foreign help expected to fight Greek forest fire: minister
Foreign help expected to fight Greek forest fire: minister
by AFP Staff Writers
Athens (AFP) Oct 1, 2024

Hundreds of firefighters battled for a third day Tuesday to contain a forest fire in Greece's Peloponnese peninsula that killed two people, a minister said.

The fire had consumed up to 5,000 hectares (12,350 acres) of forest and agricultural land, civil protection minister Vassilis Kikilias told a news conference.

Over 400 firefighters backed by over 100 fire engines and 21 aircraft battled the fire, with water bombers from Italy and Croatia expected during the day, Kikilias said.

"It is extremely difficult for our land forces and fire commandos to reach deep into these creeks and deal with the fire," the minister said.

The fire, that broke out Sunday in a ravine near the northern coast of the Peloponnese, forced the evacuation of a dozen villages.

Officials "did not expect" having to deal with wildfires at this point in the autumn season, Kikilias said.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the country "probably ought to re-evaluate" the length of its fire season, which currently runs from May to October.

An early warning sign for the 2024 season came on March 31 in the Pierian Mountains of central Greece, when a fire broke out at an altitude of over 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) and took four days to bring under control.

Two men who were helping to guide firefighters became trapped and died in the flames. Three firefighters were also hurt.

Scientists have warned for years that human-induced climate change is driving longer, more intense and more frequent heatwaves, droughts and other extreme weather events.

Greece has seen a sharp rise in wildfires this summer.

The Mediterranean country recorded its warmest winter and the hottest June and July since reliable data collection began in 1960.

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis on Tuesday said Greece had faced over 5,000 fires since the start of the year.

In August, a massive blaze near Marathon, north of Athens, killed one person and forced thousands to flee their homes.

It took hundreds of firefighters three days to control the fire, which reached the suburbs of the Greek capital.

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