Dry soils and heat records cause devastating fires in the Mediterranean. Meteorologists give little hope of an early recovery.
Athens – A new forest fire in Greece threatens the village of Olympia on the Peloponnese peninsula. The Greek civil defense ordered the residents to leave the place by SMS on Wednesday afternoon.
In the immediate vicinity is the famous ancient site of Olympia, where the Olympic flame is always lit before the games. Reporters on site reported that the ancient site’s own extinguishing system had been activated. Water cannons spray everything around and in Olympia. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni is on the way from Athens to Olympia, reported the Greek state radio.
“We have sent all our forces to Olympia to save human lives and our ancient tradition,” said the mayor of Pyrgos, the Greek broadcaster Open. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni is on the way from Athens to Olympia, reported the Greek state radio.
In 2007, dozens of people were killed in devastating fires in this region in the west of the Peloponnese. The ancient site of Olympia was badly damaged at the time.
Serious fires are currently raging in several Mediterranean countries. On the coast of Turkey – actually a holiday paradise for local and foreign tourists at this time of year – devastating fires have been raging for days. In Italy and Greece, too, where the capital Athens is also affected, flames leave entire areas charred.
Huge smoke bell
The fire brigade in Greece speaks of a vicious circle: The wind in the fire region in the north of Athens eased on Wednesday, so that the fire could be largely contained. But the whole city is now under a huge smoke bell, which does not evaporate due to the lack of wind. When you step onto the balcony, you notice it immediately: your eyes are watering, the air is scratching your throat, it is difficult to breathe. Only fresh gusts would help, but they could rekindle the fire. So the temporary rest is just that at the moment: for the time being.
More than 80 houses in the region have fallen victim to the flames since the fire started on Tuesday. Residents had left the affected areas in a panic. “Hell is behind us,” a resident called from his car to reporters on site
The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke of a “nightmare fire” during a visit to the region on Wednesday morning. At the same time, there is great relief because the fire has not claimed any lives as things stand. The residents of the evacuated places were initially housed in hotels at state expense, Mitsotakis promised to rebuild the houses.
There were also fires on the Peloponnese peninsula and the holiday islands of Rhodes and Kos as well as on the island of Evia. In total, the fire brigade in Greece fought against 40 major fires, as the civil defense announced on Tuesday evening. According to initial estimates, hundreds of houses have been burned or damaged across the country.
Heat waves in Italy
In Italy, too, the fire brigade continued to fight flames. The emergency services spoke of 530 forest fire operations across the country on Tuesday. More than half of them were in Sicily, Calabria and Puglia. The flames blazed on stalls, resorts, forests and around residential areas. The civil protection authority classified the entire island of Sicily in the highest fire risk category. In addition, she predicted heat waves with temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius for Palermo and Catania.
Any help came too late for eight people in Turkey. A German-Turkish couple was among the dead, as reported by the Turkish media. The man and woman were found lifeless on a path near their home in Manavgat in the Antalya region. According to the government-affiliated Turkish news agency Demirören Haber Ajansi (DHA), the German-born couple tried to escape to a nearby well.
There have been no such large fires in Turkey for more than ten years, said Doganay Tolunay, forest engineer at Istanbul University of the German Press Agency. The last time there was a fire of similar proportions was in 2008. The Turkish forest office announced on Wednesday that eight fires were still not under control.
Turkish tourist destinations affected
The fires have raged for days on the Mediterranean coast, which is popular with tourists. The regions of Antalya and Mugla are particularly affected. Quite a few people had to flee from the fires. On Turkish TV channels, those affected told of their flight from the flames. Farmers in the region reported that they had had to abandon some of their cattle to the fire and lost all of their belongings.
“The forests in the Mediterranean region are being ravaged by a new generation of fires,” said a message from WWF. The environmental organization fears “that this year more than half a million hectares of forest will go up in flames in the entire Mediterranean region”.
Turkey and Greece have been experiencing a heat wave with extreme temperatures for days. Sometimes it is over 40 degrees, “the soil is drying out, there has been no precipitation for a long time,” said Andreas Friedrich, press spokesman for the German Weather Service (DWD), the German Press Agency.
There can be many triggers for the fires. In Italy, for example, police arrested two arsonists in Sicily. The Carabinieri caught the two men, aged 80 and 25, red-handed on Monday in the central province of Enna, a statement said. Accordingly, they were about to set a fire in the area of the Monti Nebrodi mountains, a well-known natural area in Sicily, some of which is under nature protection.
Political failures
In Turkey, the fires are also fueling political debate. From the beginning, criticism of the equipment of the emergency services was particularly loud on social media. Too few fire-fighting planes, too little preparation for such crises. According to the Turkish Aviation Association, Turkey has 3 fire fighting planes and 17 helicopters. For comparison: Greece has more than 40 fire-fighting planes and 25 helicopters.
Electricity consumption in these countries increases with the heat. The Greek Ministry of Energy called on all citizens not to set the air conditioning to very low temperatures. In Turkey, the electricity went out in numerous places in the country on Monday, the reason being the sharp rise in consumption with the heat, according to a statement from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
Precipitation was not in sight in any of the three countries until the end of next week, according to the DWD. The dry and hot weather will continue for the next ten days. In view of the drought, the risk of fire will be enormous even after this heat wave has ended, warned meteorologists: if winds set in, devastating fires could occur. dpa
