The fires that burned more than 2,500 hectares in one of the most important national parks in Greece are still active this Tuesday for the sixth consecutive day, which forced to expand the operation to control the flames. In turn, in Germany the authorities plan more evacuations due to the fire that affects the east of the country; to which is added a new focus that devastates 500 hectares of forest and vineyard in the south of France.
Greece is burning
“The operation to control the fire is being expanded” in the Dadia national park, Dimitris Petrovits, deputy governor of the vast Evros region in northeastern Greece, told reporters. It is estimated that more than 2,500 hectares of pine forest have already been lost due to the flames that broke out last Thursday.
More than 300 firefighters, four planes and six helicopters are active in the area, said a spokesman for the fire department. The park, recognized as an “exceptional ecosystem”, it is home to three of the four species of vultures in Europe (the black vulture, the griffon vulture and the Egyptian vulture) and 36 of the 38 species of raptors on that continent.
There are also 104 species of butterflies, 13 amphibians29 reptiles and about 65 mammals, 24 of which are bats.
fire in germany
In Germany, local authorities Evaluate more evacuations this Tuesday, while forest fires devastate the east of the country, as a result of the heat wave.
The government of the eastern region of Saxony activated a “catastrophe alert” in the Bad Schandau area, as forest fires spread in the Saxon Switzerland national park.
The alarm is due to “Continuous and terrible situation of forest fires” in the park that is close to the border with the Czech Republic, authorities said. About 350 people are involved in fighting the fire, which has spread to cover 850 hectares, they added.
Scientists claim that climate change is making heat waves around the world more frequent and intense which increases the risk of fire.
The flames in France
In the south of france, Nearly 500 firefighters are fighting to control a new fire that has burned around half a thousand hectares of forests and vineyardsand forced the evacuation of a town, according to local authorities.
The residents of Aumelas, 20 kilometers west of Montpellier, had to leave their homes due to the proximity of the flames, fueled by the wind.
“In total, there are about 500 firefighters deployed, supported by two firefighting planes”
They explained in a statement.
The region, which was already affected last week by another fire, it is at “high” and “very high” risk due to months of drought and high temperatures.
Meanwhile, 2 thousand firefighters had to be mobilized in recent days to control the two huge outbreaks near Bordeauxto the southwest, which destroyed more than 20,000 hectares of forest.
