Ash is falling in Alexandroupolis, Greece – the situation is turning upside down

After the devastating wildfires in Hawaii that killed at least 114 people, emergency services in many countries are battling violent blazes.

Canary Island Tenerife and half control in Canada, new concerns in Greece: Currently the largest wildfire areas, still unclear Tuesday. The overview is as follows.

Greece: The situation is getting worse

In Greece, the situation is worsening after the Greek fire brigade on Monday More than 60 new sources of fire were registered within 24 hours.

According to the spokesman, many were immediately extinguished – but not by any means: on Monday alone, at least four new large fire fronts were formed in various parts of the country.

A fire has been raging near the Greek port city of Alexandroupolis in the country’s northeast for four days. “Ash is raining in the city itself and the flames are getting closer,” a reporter for state broadcaster ERT said on Monday evening.

Added to Northern Greece More sources of fire towards Turkey border, including Thadiya National Park. Smoke plumes large enough to be clearly visible on satellite images. Strong winds drive the fire vapor south, and you can even smell it on the Sporades islands of Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos, 200 kilometers to the southwest.

Other large fires broke out almost every hour on Monday: first in the Boeotia region west of Athens, then on the second largest Greek island of Euboea, on the island of Kythnos and in the northern Greek port of Kavala.

Several cities were evacuated as a precaution, and now there is no end in sight. The Civil Defense fire danger map shows alert levels ranging from yellow to orange to deep red for the entire country on Tuesday. With continued drought and strong winds on Tuesday, this means: Very high fire hazard.

One died in forest fire

A large forest and brush fire has been raging in the Greek region of Boeotia, northwest of Athens, since Sunday night. One person died. The fire brigade confirmed to state broadcaster ERT on Monday that the shepherd was about 80 years old. It says the man wanted to save his animals from the flames and may have passed out in the smoke and suffocated.

The massive fire broke out on Monday night for unknown reasons and spread rapidly due to the stormy winds in the area. The coastal town of Baralia Sarandi was evacuated early in the morning as a precautionary measure. The European Union is sending two firefighting planes from a base in Cyprus.

“Wind is our biggest enemy,” a fire brigade spokesman told state broadcaster ERT. As the affected areas had not received rain for several months, the plants withered. If plants and trees catch fire, the wind pushes the flames forward so quickly that the fire brigade has no chance at first.

According to Civil Defense, the affected area and several parts of the country were under a very high to very high fire risk on Monday. The fire, which has been burning for days near the port city of Alexandropoulis in the north-east of the country, has not yet been fully brought under control. As a precaution, twelve villages and settlements were evacuated over the weekend. However, it said many may have returned now.

Also, a fire broke out on the country’s second largest island, Euboea, on Monday afternoon. Psachna and Nea Artaki locations were affected, according to the fire brigade. Outskirts of villages located in the direction of the fire were evacuated as a precautionary measure. In addition, a new fire ignited in the extreme northeast of the country near the border river Evros. There it burns in Thadiya National Park.

Forest fires in Tenerife

It continues to burn on Spain’s Canary Island of Tenerife, which is popular with holidaymakers. The fire is not yet under control. However, the firemen stabilized them, said Canarian Prime Minister Fernando Clavijo. As predicted by meteorologists, the fall depends on temperatures and low winds.

The suffering in Tenerife is great: “We panicked (…) it’s a disaster for us Canarios,” said Antonio Jimenez, a pensioner of the regional digital newspaper “Canarias Ahora”.

According to official estimates, there were about 13,000 people in Tenerife by Sunday, following authorities’ call for evacuation in affected areas in the north and northeast.

However, one doesn’t know for sure because the majority don’t go to emergency shelters specifically set up in gyms, but to friends and relatives. Meanwhile, normalcy prevailed in tourist areas. Police are now suspecting arson as the cause.

“The worst is over,” Canary Islands Prime Minister Fernando Clavijo said on Monday. The fire cannot be said to be under control yet. But they are in the process of “confirming it on all fronts,” Clavijo stressed. It is hoped that many of the evacuees will be able to return to their homes in the affected north and north-east of the island before Monday.

He talked about the worst fire on the island in 40 years. 300 firefighters and 24 firefighting planes and helicopters are deployed simultaneously to douse the fire.

Difficult terrain to access, adverse weather conditions with severe drought, heat up to 34 degrees and strong winds and heavy smoke growth made the firefighting work difficult. However, progress was reported on Monday morning. Regional newspaper El Dia quoted fire chief Federico Grillo as saying “the possibility of a fire is decreasing.”

According to officials, an area of ​​12,800 hectares has been affected, roughly the size of 18,000 football fields.

Forest fires in Bulgaria

Firefighters battled massive wildfires and wildfires in southeastern Bulgaria. Bulgarian media reported on Monday that 1,000 hectares were affected. about that Area of ​​1400 football fields.

Of these, 600 hectares are forests. A state of emergency was declared in the municipality of Svilengrad. Firefighting in this difficult-to-access area has become extremely difficult due to heat and high winds. People should not be affected.

According to state radio, two houses and farm buildings were burnt in two villages. Also in the northern part of Burgas, 20 hectares of forest were destroyed in the fire. Bulgaria’s meteorological and hydrological agency has warned that the fire risk will be very high in the coming days.

Canada: 41,000 hectares affected by wildfires

Containment, but not all clarity, for a wildfire in the southern Canadian province of British Columbia. At least 50 buildings have been destroyed in the past few days, local Premier David Eby said on Monday – but the number could rise.

“It may be assumed, Most, if not all, of these buildings are residential‘ said AB. The situation has eased somewhat recently, particularly in the city of West Kelowna, where more rescue workers have been deployed.

Also, public and officials are expecting rain on Tuesday. Many parts of Canada have been battling wildfires for months. Tens of thousands of people have already had to evacuate their homes in many affected areas of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.

Air quality also deteriorated rapidly. The Army is now stationed there to provide logistical support to put out the fire.

In the Canadian province of British Columbia, two fires combined to burn more than 41,000 hectares by Saturday evening.

The area around Lake Suswap in the south of the province was affected. A CBC broadcast in the town of Scotch Creek showed destroyed homes and burned cars.

There is no official information about the damage. Local Premier David Eby said orders to bring about 35,000 people to safety were in place across the province.

Tourism has been banned in the affected areas, allowing emergency services and shelters for evacuees to remain free. Meanwhile, more fire crews and equipment were available to protect homes in West Kelowna from burning.

Officials on Sunday estimated the McDougall Creek fire was about 11,000 hectares. The size of the fire has increased more than tenfold since Friday. Thousands of people had to leave their homes and many buildings were destroyed.

Forest fires are common in many parts of Canada. However, they are currently enjoying the worst season in the nation’s history. Experts see extreme fires as a result of the climate crisis, which has led, among other things, to drier soils. (dpa)