Aug 7, 2021 - Science

Fires blaze uncontrolled through Greece amid heatwave

Erin Doherty

Local residents use tree branches to fight a fire restart in Thrakomakedones, near Mount Parnitha, north of Athens, on August 7, 2021. — Local residents use tree branches to fight a fire restart in Thrakomakedones, near Mount Parnitha, north of Athens, on Aug. 7. Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP

Fires are spreading through Greece uncontrolled for a fifth day, destroying land and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate the second-biggest island of Evia, Reuters reports.

Driving the news: The fire began in Evia on Tuesday before spreading across thousands of acres of forest in the north, per Reuters.

The wildfires, which come amid Greece's worst heatwave in more than 30 years, have destroyed homes and businesses and killed animals.
Greece has deployed its army to fight the fires and has received assistance from other countries, including Cyprus, France and Israel. Germany also said it was sending firefighters and vehicles.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the situation a "nightmarish summer," adding the government's priority "has been, first and foremost, to protect human lives."
Dozens of wildfires emerged over the last 24 hours, with the biggest flames still burning in Evia and areas in the Peloponnese including Arkadia and Ancient Olympia.
"(It's) really bad," Thanasis Kaloudis, a resident of Thrakomakedones, told Reuters. "All of Greece has burned."

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Fires blaze uncontrolled through Greece amid heatwave

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