The number of forest fires is increasing in Southeastern Europe. Flames raged in Greece from Sunday to Monday, including in the north of the Peloponnese peninsula. As a precaution, several towns were evacuated. The Greek fire brigade reports about 100 fires per day. Last year, after a massive heat wave and drought, tens of thousands of hectares of forest burned across the country. There were also forest fires in Croatia and Albania.
While not all of these fires in Greece develop into a major fire, the state of alert is also high due to high winds in many places. This year, firefighters from other EU countries are helping Greece contain the blaze if possible from the start because of last year’s severe fires.
15 hectares of oak forest in flames
Near the central Croatian town of Novak, a 15-hectare oak forest was set on fire last weekend. In addition to vehicles, the fire service also deployed helicopters to extinguish the fire. On the Adriatic island of Brac near Split, a hectare of vegetation has burned down due to the drought. According to reports in the Croatian media, the tractor was a burning car on the side of the road.
Drought, heat and strong wind
At least six hot spots have been reported in Albania recently, favored by drought, heat and high winds, Albanian media reported. Among other things, the area around the Adriatic port city of Vlora, where olive groves and orchards were in danger, but also forest areas in the interior near Kruja were affected. In total, 30 hectares of vegetation were burned across the country. In some places, the flames also approached villages.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
