Forest fires in Greece and Turkey continue, three more volunteers died
Kyiv • UNN
Forest fires continue to rage in Greece and Turkey, where the highest temperature in history has been recorded. In Turkey, three volunteers died in a water tanker accident while extinguishing a fire in Kestel.
Forest fires continue to rage in Greece and Turkey, with the latter seeing an increased death toll after three volunteer firefighters died, UNN reports with reference to BBC, Cumhuriyet, and eKathimerini.
Details
Greece continues to battle large forest fires across the country amid intense heat, but firefighters have managed to bring many hotspots under control.
Extreme heat continued, with temperatures in central Greece reaching 42.4°C on Sunday. Firefighters worked on five main fire fronts late Sunday evening in the Peloponnese region west of Athens, as well as on the islands of Evia, Kythira, and Crete.
Greece battles five major wildfires, evacuation underway near Athens27.07.25, 16:52 • 6079 views
According to Greek eKathimerini, a forest fire that broke out on Saturday evening in Eordaia, in the Kozani region of Western Macedonia in northwestern Greece, continued to rage for the third consecutive day on Monday, authorities reported. A separate fire that broke out near the Monastery of Saint Raphael in Serres, Central Macedonia, on Sunday, was brought under control, officials said.
Meanwhile, neighboring Turkey recorded its highest temperature in history, as fires raged in several regions.
Turkish Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumaklı said on Sunday that the areas affected by the fires "are going through difficult times" and that he believes it will be several days before they are fully contained.
Sunday was the fourth day of fighting the fire in the northern province of Karabük, AFP news agency reported on Sunday. On Wednesday, 10 people died while fighting a fire in Eskişehir, a province in the northwest, the publication added.
On Monday, Yumaklı noted that the fire in Harmancık in Bursa was still raging, the fire in Kestel was mostly extinguished, and the intensity of the fire in Karabük had decreased, adding: "We have another very dangerous week ahead of us. We will continue to be vigilant. This week is even more dangerous than the previous one."
According to him, in the evening, during the extinguishing of both fires, "three of our citizens died" as a result of an accident with a water truck – referring to volunteers who helped extinguish the forest fire in Kestel in Bursa.
Some local authorities have announced water consumption restrictions, including for the resort of Çeşme on Turkey's west coast.
In Kythira, Greece, the fire spread rapidly on Sunday after breaking out on Saturday morning in the village of Pitsinades. Preliminary estimates suggest that about 20% of the island has been affected by the fire. New evacuation alerts were issued on Sunday.
On the island of Evia, officials said the fire near Pissona on Saturday "got out of control." Six firefighters were hospitalized with burns and smoke inhalation, and several villages were left without electricity.
In Messenia, a third forest fire broke out in the Politeia area of Trifylia on Saturday morning and intensified later that day. Officials reported significant damage to homes and agricultural land.
In Attica, the region where Athens is located, a fire that started in Afidnes on Saturday quickly spread through Drosopigi, Kryoneri, and Agios Stefanos, forcing residents to flee.
Although the fire department claims that the main front has been contained, scattered hotspots, as indicated, continued to burn on Sunday.
Meanwhile, in the Chania region of Crete, firefighters on Sunday battled a 20-kilometer forest fire front that engulfed woodlands, beehives, crops, and livestock.
Strong southwest winds hampered efforts to contain the hotspots, while several villages remained without electricity.
Meanwhile, new fires were reported on Monday – including at the foot of Hymettus.
Addition
Last month, fires on Greece's fifth-largest island, Chios, in the northern Aegean Sea, destroyed 4,700 hectares of land.
Earlier in July, a forest fire on the island of Crete forced the evacuation of 5,000 tourists.