More than 600 firefighters backed by water-dropping aircraft struggle to control wildfires in Greece [View all]
Source: AP
By ELENA BECATOROS
Updated 6:40 AM CDT, August 27, 2023
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — More than 600 firefighters, including reinforcements from several European countries and backed by a fleet of water-dropping planes and helicopters, were battling three major wildfires in Greece Sunday, two of which have been raging for days.
A massive blaze in the country’s northeastern regions of Evros and Alexandroupolis, believed to have caused 20 of the 21 wildfire-related deaths in the past week in Greece, was burning for a ninth day.
The blaze, one of the largest single wildfires ever to have struck a European Union country, has decimated vast tracts of forest and burned homes in outlying areas of the city of Alexandroupolis. On Sunday, 295 firefighters, seven planes and five helicopters were tackling it, the fire department said.
The wildfire has scorched 77,000 hectares (297 square miles) of land and had 120 active hotspots, the European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service said Sunday.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/greece-wildfires-evros-alexandroupolis-athens-parnitha-87ba978808ca9d836b733df6b5713083
= new reply since forum marked as read