Greece - Forest fire

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 07:31:27 +02:00

A significant fire has been burning across the northern suburbs of Athens close to Mount Parnitha since 3 August. Greek Civil Protection authorities report 81 forest fires in the country over the past 24 hours.
According to media reports, hundreds of people have been displaced and dozens of homes destroyed. National authorities have deployed 520 firefighters, 150 vehicles, 9 helicopters and 7 aircraft to battle the fire.
On 3 August, Greece requested two aerial forest firefighting modules (4 Canadair aircraft) and four ground forest firefighting teams through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. On 4 August, Cyprus offered 1 ground forest fighting team of 40 firefighters and 2 air tractors. Sweden has offered 2 airtractors fireboss from the rescEU fleet. The European Commission is coordinating and cofinancing the deployment of these EU assets.
The EU's Copernicus emergency satellite mapping service was activated on 4 August to support damage assessments in Attika and the island of Evia (EMSR527).
According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the fire risk will remain extreme to very extreme over the affected area.