Fires out of control – Converted “leopard” now helps in Greece

The EU has already mobilized nearly half of its firefighting aircraft and helicopters to fight the blaze in Dadia National Park near the port city of Alexandroupoli, European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari said in Brussels on Tuesday. Eleven aircraft and one helicopter from the EU fleet were sent to Greece. In addition, 407 EU firefighters are helping fight the flames, the report said. A special vehicle was transported from central Greece to the region, as news channel Skai showed: a Leopard tank with a capacity for 15,000 liters of fire extinguishing water that has been converted for extinguishing purposes.

The device also has a shovel for rough terrain and a rescue room for ten people. On Tuesday, moderate winds continued to blow in the region, fueling the flames in many places. Meanwhile, according to the news channel ERTNews, the compensation process for affected residents has started.The Greek fire brigade has been fighting the huge fire for eleven days. According to them, the flames in the nature reserve, an important habitat for birds of prey and other animals, were still “out of control” on Tuesday. The fire front is therefore almost ten kilometers long. Currently, 475 firefighters are fighting the flames from two sides with 100 vehicles, six planes and four helicopters.

The EU currently has a firefighting fleet of 24 aircraft and four helicopters. The machines are supplied by Member States to fight fires in other EU countries and neighboring countries. Brussels is working on setting up an independent firefighting fleet with twelve machines. It is financed by EU funds and should be operational from 2030.In addition to the fire in the Dadia National Park, a fire in the Parnitha massif north of Athens is currently also causing concern. The area is considered the green lung of the Greek capital. To fight the fire there, 260 firefighters with 77 vehicles and a helicopter are deployed.

Crisis meeting to discuss firefighting
It also continues to burn in the Parnitha Mountains northwest of Athens and on the islands of Andros and Euboea. An emergency meeting led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was scheduled for later in the day to discuss firefighting and reforestation in the region. The approach to the serious fires will also be a topic in the Greek parliament next Thursday.

For many parts of Greece, the risk of wildfires was still labeled ‘high’ by civil protection on Tuesday, including large parts of the Peloponnese peninsula, the Attica region around the capital Athens, the Cyclades and Crete. The fire brigade, as well as the police and the army, patrolled the affected areas on the ground and from the air to discover new sources of fire as early as possible, the daily newspaper “Kathimerini” reported.