Wikipedia

2021 Greece wildfires

The 2021 Greece wildfires were multiple wildfires in Greece in August 2021, which killed 3 people,[4][5] injured at least 20 others and burned dozens of homes, after a historic heatwave for the country, with the highest temperatures reaching 47.1 °C (116.8 °F). Authorities evacuated several villages and towns. According to BBC News, Greece experienced the worst heatwave since 1987.[6][7] These fires were the worst fires in Greece since the 2007 Greek forest fires which burnt more than double the area (270,000 hectares) of the 2021 fires (125,000 hectares).

2021 Greece wildfires
Satellite image of Greece on August 8, 2021
Date(s)3 August - 3 September
LocationEuboea, Peloponnese and Attica, Greece
Statistics
Total fires140+
Total area125,000 hectares
Impacts
Deaths3
Non-fatal injuries20+
Ignition
CauseArson[1][2][3]
Map of the areas affected by fire in Achaia and Rhodes
Map of the areas affected in Euboea and Attica

The largest wildfires were in Attica, Olympia, Messenia, and the most destructive in northern Euboea[8][9][10][11] from which ferries evacuated about 2000 people.[6] In 2021, approximately 125,000 hectares of forest and arable land were burnt during the worst fire season since 2007, with over 50,000 hectares burnt in northern Euboea alone.[6][12] The World Meteorological Organization connected the fires with the regional heatwave and wildfire season made worse by climate change.[13][14]

A fire had also broken out in the island of Rhodes a few days before the mass outbreak and resulted in a mass evacuation as well as leaving many people without power or water. Although many farms were destroyed, there were no casualties or burned homes.[15] Several wildfires were also reported in multiple parts of the island of Crete.

Investigation of causes

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As of 8 August, 5 people have been arrested for arson in the respective areas of Perama, Kalamata, Messenia, Petroupoli and Philopappou.[16] On 9 August, the prosecutor of Greece's Supreme Court, Vassilios I. Pliotas, called for an investigation into a possible organized arson plot on the part of a "deliberate organized criminal activity" that may have been behind the fires which torched several regions of Greece.[17] As of 9 August, police has arrested 19 people in different places in Greece for attempted arson.[18] As of 10 August, 3 suspected arsonists have been remanded in custody:[19] two Greek men, one for an arson at Petroupoli and the other for an arson at Kryoneri and an Afghan woman for an arson at the Pedion tou Areos.[20] As of 12 August, the number of arrests made by Hellenic Police for arson and negligence causing these wildfires had increased to 118.[21] Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis said the special prosecutor was "already cooperating closely and regularly" with the fire department and the police "for the in-depth investigation of the causes of all the large fires which have broken out this year." Commenting on another fire that had started south of Athens, the minister added, "And all this because, according to witnesses, the fire was due to the use of a flare by one or more" people.[22]

In mid August, a 14 year old boy was arrested by police after they had tracked his movements through video footage. He confessed to police of starting 9 devastating fires in the Phthiotis region, however police suspect him of starting a total of 14. He travelled from location to location starting these fires on his bicycle from 5 August to 17 August.[23]

In 2007, the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report said that "Warmer, drier conditions will lead to more frequent and prolonged droughts, as well as to a longer fire season and increased fire risk, particularly in the Mediterranean region."[24] The fires were some of several extreme weather events around the world in 2021.

Reactions

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The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis lamented the situation, underlining that Greece's priority is that of saving lives[6] and attributed the fires to the climate change.[25] Mitsotakis also apologized on Monday, 9 August, "for any weaknesses" in containing the massive wildfires that have destroyed swathes of forest land and forced hundreds of people to evacuate numerous settlements over the past week.[26]

The Deputy Minister of Civil Protection, Nikos Hardalias, stated: "The resignations of all the government officials are in the Prime Minister's drawer. Mine is at the very top of the drawer. [...] The state apparatus did what was humanly possible. But, of course, we are not satisfied with such a catastrophe. The Prime Minister is shocked. We all need to apologize to the people who lost their lives and we will evaluate if we could have done something different."[27]

The World Meteorological Organization highlighted the Greek wildfires in its press release response to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report Working Group I report, noting the wildfires as an example of the extreme weather being caused by climate change.[13]

International assistance

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The following countries offered assistance:

The following International Organizations offered assistance:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Multiple Fires in Greece Linked to Arson, Suspects Arrested". Greek Reporter. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Three arsonists responsible for devastating fires in Greece arrested on Friday". Greek City Times. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Greek Prosecutor Calls for Investigation into Organized Arson Plot". Greek Reporter. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Φωτιά στη Φωκίδα: Μπουλντόζα έπεσε σε γκρεμό - Νεκρός ο χειριστής". CNN.gr (in Greek). 9 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Νεκρός από τη φωτιά της Βαρυμπόμπης". www.zougla.gr (in Greek). 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d "Greece wildfires: PM describes 'nightmarish summer'". BBC News. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Grecia: nuovo incendio vicino Atene, ancora fiamme ad Evia". ansa.it. ansa.it. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  8. ^ Kitsantonis, Niki; Specia, Megan (5 August 2021). "In Photos: Fires Ravage Southern Europe". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Forest fire in Greece threatens Olympics birthplace". Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Thousands more flee fires in Greece amid heat wave". Associated Press. 6 August 2021. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Greece fires: 150 houses destroyed by wildfires as monks refuse to leave stricken island". TheGuardian.com. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  12. ^ Newsroom. "Over 100,000 hectares burnt in two weeks | eKathimerini.com". www.ekathimerini.com. Retrieved 13 August 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ a b "WMO: New climate report is a clarion call for urgent action". World Meteorological Organization. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Greek wildfires are 'harsh reality of climate change,' experts warn". NBC News. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Massive Fire Rips Through Rhodes, Leaves Much Of The Island Without Power And Water — Greek City Times". 2 August 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Five arrests for arson attempts (Original: Πέντε συλλήψεις για απόπειρα εμπρησμού)". Kathimerini (in Greek). 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Greek Prosecutor Calls for Investigation into Organized Arson Plot". GreekReporter.com. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Φωτιές: 19 προσαγωγές και έξι συλλήψεις για εμπρησμό σε όλη τη χώρα". alphafreepress.gr (in Greek). 9 August 2021. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  19. ^ sportime.gr (10 August 2021). "Fires: The first arsonists are going to jail (original: Φωτιές: Στη φυλακή οι πρώτοι εμπρηστές)". sportime.gr (in Greek). Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  20. ^ "Arsonists in Greece – arrests: The defendants go to jail (original: Εμπρηστές Ελλάδα – συλλήψεις: Στη φυλακή οι κατηγορούμενοι)". alphafreepress.gr (in Greek). 10 August 2021. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  21. ^ Μπαντής, Βασίλης (11 August 2021). "Φωτιές: Εθελοντής έβαζε φωτιές για να τις σβήνει ο ίδιος - Δεκαοχτώ συλλήψεις για εμπρησμούς". Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  22. ^ "The Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News and Analysis". The Washington Post.[permanent dead link‍]
  23. ^ "14-year-old Arsonist Confessed To 9 Wildfires In Central Greece — Greek City Times".
  24. ^ Alcamo, J; Moreno, JM; Nováky, B; Bindi, M; Corobov, R; Devoy, RJN; Giannakopoulos, C; Martin, E; Olesen, JE; Shvidenko, A (2007). "Europe" (PDF). In Parry, ML; Canziani, OF; Palutikof, JP; van der Linden, PJ; Hanson, CE (eds.). AR4 Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. pp. 541–580.
  25. ^ "Greece wildfires spread, causing mass evacuations". BBC News. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Greek PM apologises over fire-fighting failures | eKathimerini.com". www.ekathimerini.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Hardalias: My resignation is in the Prime Minister's drawer - What happened with the aerial means (original: Χαρδαλιάς: Η παραίτηση μου είναι στο συρτάρι του Πρωθυπουργού- Τι έγινε με εναέρια μέσα | ΣΚΑΪ)". www.skai.gr. 10 August 2021. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  28. ^ "MYTILINEOS brings from Australia 4 Ericson Firefighting Helicopters along with their staff (Original: Η MYTILINEOS φέρνει από την Αυστραλία 4 πυροσβεστικά ελικόπτερα Ericson με το προσωπικό τους)". Hellas Journal. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  29. ^ a b c d e f "Foreign aid against wildfires: From Cyprus to Qatar (Detailed list). [Original: Η βοήθεια από το εξωτερικό στις πυρκαγιές: Από Κύπρο μέχρι Κατάρ στάλθηκαν δυνάμεις (Αναλυτική λίστα)]". Skai. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  30. ^ a b c d "Help to put out fires in Greece – Firefighters arrive from Romania". Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  31. ^ a b c d e "Help pours in as Greece battles with devastating wildfires | eKathimerini.com". www.ekathimerini.com.
  32. ^ a b c d "Wildfires-Greece: Big help from outside - The help that came (Original: Πυρκαγιές-Ελλάδα: Μεγάλη η βοήθεια από το εξωτερικό - Οι δυνάμεις που έσπευσαν)". Skai. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  33. ^ "Wildfires: Convoys of French and Austrian fire trucks travel to Greece via Ancona - Watch video (original: Πυρκαγιές: Κομβόι γαλλικών και αυστριακών πυροσβεστικών οχημάτων ταξιδεύουν για Ελλάδα μέσω Ανκόνας - Δειτε βίντεο)". ProtoThema. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  34. ^ "Greece wildfires:Thousands flee island of Evia as blazes continue to ravage lands | DW | 07.08.2021". DW.COM.
  35. ^ "Israel to send firefighting planes to Greece to combat wildfires". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  36. ^ "Kuwait dispatches firefighters to Turkey, Greece". KUNA. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  37. ^ "Another group of Polish firefighters set to go to Greece". polandin.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
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  40. ^ "România trimite alți 142 de pompieri în Grecia să ajute la stingerea incendiilor". Libertatea (in Romanian). 19 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  41. ^ "Δεύτερο Beriev στέλνουν οι Ρώσοι στην Ελλάδα - Δεκτό το ελληνικό αίτημα | ΣΚΑΪ". www.skai.gr (in Greek). 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  42. ^ "Srbija šalje pomoć Grčkoj, u akciju kreću vatrogasci, helikopteri i vatrogasna vozila".
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  46. ^ "NSPA supports Greece in fighting wildfires". NSPA NATO. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
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