Wildfire

Firefighters rush to battle wildfire near Central Greece village

Firefighters are on their way to battle a wildfire near the Central Greece village of Kamena Vourla.

Local mayor Ilias Kyrmanidis said the fire broke out in two places in farmland at an altitude of 800 meters amid moderate winds.

"The fire is dangerously close to a nearby forest; swift action is imperative," he underlined.

As fire season fast approaches, Greece’s planners look for an edge in response time

In a drill at a 12th century monastery near Athens, a fast-approaching wildfire threatens to trap clergy and a group of people attending a baptism.

Volunteers and firefighters race to pull them to safety through clouds of red smoke, as a drone buzzing overhead sends live video of the rescue to a national coordination center.

Incorrigible

When Rena Dourou, the former SYRIZA regional governor, remarked, "I had a stroke of bad luck on my watch," following the deadly wildfire in eastern Attica in 2018, it elicited public outrage for a simple reason: not because there can't be instances of "bad luck" during a term as governor, but because such occurrences are inherently part of the risks politicians undertake when assuming crucial p

Battle against Pierian Mountains wildfire enters fourth day

Crews continued to battle a wildfire in the Pierian Mountains of the central Macedonia region for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday.

The firefighting operation comprises 36 fire engines manned by a crew of 150 members, along with nine teams of firefighters on foot, supplemented by two water-dropping helicopters.

Suspected arsonist remanded in custody

A foreign national who was detained for the forest fire on Mount Ymittos, near Athens, has been returned to jail after his testimony.

The man was arrested on Saturday by the Fire Service's criminal unit on suspicion of arson near the Monastery of Agios Georgios Koutalas and led before a prosecutor.

His nationality was not disclosed.

A rare window of opportunity

Escapist tendencies are perfectly understandable in anyone who is involved in public life in Greece, and especially if they are in a post that entails serious responsibilities. To put it bluntly, this is not an easy country. The state is riddled with people like the stationmaster in Larissa involved in the Tempe crash and the Fire Service officials on duty during the deadly Mati wildfire.

Europe must do more against 'catastrophic' climate risks: EU

Europe could suffer "catastrophic" consequences from climate change if it fails to take urgent and decisive action to adapt to risks, a new EU analysis warned Monday.

Areas in southern Europe are most at risk, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said in its first report on the climate risks the continent faces.

Greek farmers join tractor protest in front of parliament for second day

Greek farmers honked their tractor horns in front of parliament on Wednesday after spending the night in central Athens as their protest against rising fuel and production costs stretched into a second day.

At least 8,000 farmers, beekeepers and livestock breeders joined the protest on Syntagma Square on Tuesday, echoing grievances at similar demonstrations across Europe.

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