(Athens, Greece) Two firefighters have been injured battling wildfires that broke out on the Aegean islands of Chios and Kos, as Greece’s prime minister warned of a “particularly dangerous” summer.
Emergency services announced evacuation orders for residents of the Metohi area in western Chios on Monday morning, urging them to head to a nearby beach. By Monday evening, more than 140 firefighters, as well as eight firefighting teams specializing in forest fires, seven air tankers and three helicopters were battling the blaze.
A spokesman for the fire service, Vasilis Vathrakoyiannis, said two firefighters had suffered minor injuries, while dozens of others were heading to the island by boat from the neighbouring island of Lesbos and from Athens.
“The situation remains difficult in Chios and all civil protection forces will make great efforts to limit it,” Vathrakoyiannis said at an evening press briefing.
Another fire that broke out further south in the Aegean Sea, on the island of Kos, was less intense on Monday night, although some areas were still burning, Vathrakoyiannis said. The blaze was being fought by more than 100 firefighters, including reinforcements from Athens, as well as six air tankers and two helicopters, he added.
Dangerous summer ahead
A total of 52 forest fires have broken out in Greece in the past 24 hours, 44 of which have been brought under control in the early stages, Vathrakoyiannis reported. Authorities were still battling a total of eight fires on Monday evening.
The fires come a day after firefighters successfully brought two large wildfires near Athens under control, fanned by strong winds.
“We have had an exceptionally difficult June in terms of weather conditions, with high levels of drought and unusually strong winds for this season,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told a cabinet meeting on Monday.
This year’s summer, he added, “is expected to be particularly dangerous” in terms of forest fires.
Mr Mitsotakis said the use of drones as part of an early warning system for wildfires had been particularly useful this year and welcomed better coordination between authorities and volunteer firefighters to limit the extent of damage caused by the fires so far.
“We are entering the difficult heart of the anti-fire period, and this certainly cannot be won without the help of the public as well, especially in the field of prevention,” Mr Mitsotakis argued.
Last month, hot, dry weather combined with strong winds helped fuel wildfires in Greece and Turkey. This summer is expected to be particularly prone to fires after a mild, dry winter. Last year, large wildfires killed more than 20 people in Greece.