Slight improvement in forest fire areas

For days, emergency services have been fighting devastating fires in the Mediterranean. At least in some regions there are signs of improvement.

Rome / Istanbul / Athens – In the Mediterranean region, Greece and Turkey are hoping for an improvement in the forest fire situation, while Italy continues to try continuously to bring the flames under control.

In the region of Calabria, which is badly affected by fire, in the extreme south of mainland Italy, the fire brigade spoke of a more critical situation. There France sent three fire-fighting planes to support that were previously in use in Greece, as the French civil defense wrote on Twitter.

In Calabria, according to media reports, four people have died in connection with the fires. On Wednesday, two pensioners lost their lives in fires in different places. In the metropolitan area of Reggio Calabria and the province of Catanzaro in particular, there were many fires. As of Thursday morning, a little more than 60 fire brigades and 5 fire fighting planes were in action.

48.8 degrees in Sicily

Meanwhile, the fire brigade reported that the situation in Sicily was under control. An extreme heat wave has been wafting over the island for days. On Wednesday, a measuring station in the province around the city of Syracuse registered 48.8 degrees Celsius. The value would exceed the previous European temperature record of 48 degrees from Athens in 1977, but it would have to be officially confirmed.

The weather shouldn’t play into the cards of the rescuers in the coming days either. For Thursday and Friday, meteorologists again expected extreme temperatures in some parts of the country. The civil defense continued to classify the forest fire risk on the large islands of Sicily and Sardinia as very high in large parts because of the persistent drought and sometimes strong winds.

Greece

In Greece, however, the people affected by forest fires were able to breathe a sigh of relief again. Rainfall on Thursday night helped significantly in the fight against the fires. According to reports from local reporters, many fires went out on both the second largest island of Evia and on the Peloponnese peninsula.

+

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday afternoon that all fires are currently under control. However, he warned that the danger was far from over. The fire brigade also issued a warning. In many cases there is still a fire in the undergrowth and new fires could break out. In addition, strong winds were blowing across the country. All fire brigade units from more than 20 nations remained on high alert.

In many cases, drivers received the first raindrops with honking concerts, as the news channel Skai reported. Drought is believed to be the main cause of the devastating fires, which are estimated to have destroyed more than 90,000 acres of forest and agricultural land and thousands of homes. Countless animals died.

Turkey

In Turkey, on the other hand, the situation improved somewhat. The fire brigade brought a major fire under control in the southwest Turkish province of Mugla two weeks after it broke out. Forest Minister Bekir Pakdemirli wrote on Twitter on Thursday night that they are in the process of cooling the area in the Köycegiz district. Most recently, strong winds hindered the fire fighting in the region.

More than 200 fires had broken out in Turkey since the end of July, including 16 major forest fires. More than half of the 81 provinces were affected. Most of the fires have now been brought under control. The fire wreaked havoc on the coastal provinces of Antalya and Mugla in particular. Eight people were killed.

+

In the meantime, emergency services are fighting against floods in northern Turkey. According to the civil protection agency Afad, five people were killed in the floods on the Black Sea and another person was injured. More than 600 people were brought to safety from different regions. dpa