Flames are still engulfing the forests of the Dadia National Park, Greece’s most significant protected area, while firefighters are also battling blazes on Lesvos island, Ilia and a new fire in Pella.
A firefighting aircraft battles to extinguish a forest fire raging in the Dadia National Park, in Evros, northern Greece. Photo: EPA-EFE/DIMITRIS ALEXOUDIS
Firefighters in Greece for a fifth day battled blazes in the Dadia National Park, Greece’s biggest Natura 2000 site, home to dozens of animals and some 400 plant species.
“Unspeakable sadness has been caused by the fire that has affected the core of the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli National Park. At the time of writing, one of the country’s and Europe’s most important national parks is under threat, and with it the region’s unique birds of prey,” wrote WWF Greece.
Members of WWF Greece and the Society for the Protection of Biodiversity of Thrace, an environmental organisation operating in the Thrace area, have been at the forefront from the first, assisting both in the firefighting work and giving all possible help to other relevant bodies in the area.
At the first light of day, 320 firefighters with 68 vehicles, 13 groups of pedestrian units, two firefighting aircraft and four firefighting helicopters were operating in the area with the assistance of the General Staff of the National Defence, the army, the Forestry Services of Evros, volunteers firefighters as well as water carriers, reported Athens Macedonia News Agency.
So far, police have preventively evacuated more than 400 citizens from their homes.
At the same time, fire brigades are operating in Ilia, a region in the western Peloponnese, on Lesvos, in the northern Aegean, and in Pella, central Macedonia.
The previous week, another fire broke in Penteli, a mountainous area in Attika, leaving behind dozens of destroyed houses and thousands of acres of forest burned.
Two videos are being examined by the Fire Service, to find out whether the fire in Penteli was the result of arson, reported media outlet Proto Thema.
Last Wednesday, environmental organizations had a meeting with the Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostas Skrekas, and officials, about law “provisions for the simplification of environmental licensing, environmental inspections and environmental protection”.
The organizations have asked for the withdrawal of the bill, calling it a “continuation of the deconstruction of the system of designation of protected areas (in particular the zones of absolute protection and nature protection)”, and calling the public consultation process a “sham”, due to the “minimum time and the impossibility of informing, and thus participation, of all involved bodies”.
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