A large wildfire broke out on the Greek island of Andros on Saturday morning. The initial blazes were spotted a few minutes prior to midday in an area known to locals as the Strapouries area.
Hours later, the fire continues to rage mostly uncontrollably. This is mainly because the blazes are fueled by very strong winds that are significantly hindering firefighters’ efforts.
Residents of the villages and settlements of Strapouries, Lamyra, Menites, and Ipsila have been ordered to evacuate their properties and head towards Chora via emergency alerts issued by the 112 European emergency number.
The fire has been burning in a relatively densely forested area of the island and has not reached any large urban settlements yet. However, houses scattered throughout in the vicinity are under threat. Andros has a history of wildfires, with a high number of incidents being reported every summer season.
A total of 73 firefighters, aided by two aircraft and two helicopters, are currently battling to control the blaze on the beautiful Cycladic island. An additional 19 firefighters with five vehicles from Athens are expected to arrive on Andros soon to reinforce firefighting efforts of local services.
Greece’s plan to support firefighters
Large wildfires began breaking out earlier than expected in Greece this year amid temperatures that soared to 30 degrees Celsius in late March. The wildfire season usually does not begin until mid to late April.
To deal with wildfires more efficiently this year, Greece is fast-tracking a 2.1 billion euro scheme. This is to upgrade its fleet of water tankers and produce an artificial intelligence-driven sensor network to detect smoke in the early stages of fire.
However, delivery of the new equipment won’t begin until next year. This means alternative methods will have to be found to drive down response times.
Meanwhile, authorities are putting their faith in a range of preventative measures. These include a more flexible administration and better inter-agency cooperation, including better communication between local administrations and the military. Increased drills began earlier this year.
Wildfire on Andros, Greece not the only one
Andros is not the only place in Greece that has been fighting with wildfires. Late in the afternoon on Saturday, a fire broke out on the island of Evia (Euboea). The blazes broke out around the area of Kontodespoti, which belongs to the Dirfies Messapies municipality.
On Friday, a man who rushed to help firefighters tackle a wildfire in the western region of the Peloponnese died, reports said yesterday.
The 55-year-old was reportedly trying to help a firefighting effort near the village of Alpochori in the prefecture of Ilia (Elis) but may have choked on food on his way to help.
He was taken to a hospital in the capital of the county, Pyrgos, according to local media, and was pronounced dead. It is expected that a post-mortem will be conducted to determine the precise cause of death.
Fires on Friday were also ongoing in areas of Boeotia, Ilia, Fthiotida, Messinia, Aitoloakarnania, and the Ionian island of Kefalonia. Firefighters had to deal with fires in Kranidi Argolis, Achaia, and Ilia. Because of the fires, the national highway that connects Pyrgos with the city of Patras was closed.
Temperatures are still extremely high across the country with strong winds prevailing both on land and across Greece’s seas.