Wildfire suppression

The Greek authorities have requested assistance from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM) to fight the wildfires that have been raging northeast of Athens since Sunday.

On Monday, several countries responded positively to the Greek request, which was made on Sunday evening.

Greek authorities flew additional forces Thursday to the southern island of Crete, where 250 firefighters battled a wildfire that forced the evacuation of eight villages in mountainous areas.

The blaze tore through olive groves, farmland and scrub, damaging irrigation networks, but posed no immediate threat to the busy holiday resorts along the island's coast.

A wildfire that broke out on Friday near Lagkadas in the northern port city of Thessaloniki is now partially under control. 

The fire, which is burning low vegetation, still requires the attention of ground crews. 

A firefighting aircraft from France is set to arrive today to aid in battling the fire on the Slavyanka border mountain. Bulgaria requested assistance under the European Civil Protection Mechanism after the fire, which had already consumed over 15,000 acres in Greece, crossed into Bulgarian territory.

Four Greek firefighting aircraft were deployed to Albania to help tackle a large forest fire in the southern part of the country through the European Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), which was activated at the request of Tirana.

Greece sent two PZLs to Albania on Tuesday, followed by two Canadair CL-415s on Wednesday. All four completed their mission and returned to Greece.

Greece sent four firefighting aircraft to Albania on Tuesday and Wednesday to help combat a large forest fire in the south of the country.

The deployment was organized through the European Civil Protection Mechanism after Albania requested assistance. Greece provided two PZL planes on Tuesday and two Canadair CL-415 aircraft on Wednesday.

Due to the increased number of wildfires, Greek firefighting planes, Canadair and PZL, saw their flight hours in June increase by 1260% compared to the same month last year, sources stated to Kathimerini.

A large wildfire broke out southeast of the Greek capital in the area of Keratea on Sunday afternoon, with residents in several settlement told to move to a safer area. 

According to local authorities the fire is burning houses, while strong winds are inhibiting firefighting efforts.

The Keratea area currently has no active front, while the fire in Rodopi has only a few small active spots.

The mayor of Sapes, Apostolos Ioannou, stated on ERT that at one point on Saturday, the fire approached the settlement of Asketes, but ultimately the residents did not need to evacuate because the waterbombers managed to keep it at bay. 

A wildfire broke out in the Resta region of Chios island, on Friday.

Ground and aerial firefighting forces have been deployed in the area, while residents of Karyes received a message from the 112 to evacuate. 

A total of 55 firefighters with 13 vehicles are participating in the operation, while five aircrafts and one helicopter are also on spot.