A massive wildfire in northeastern Greece is gradually abating, with over 700 firefighters deployed
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A massive wildfire that destroyed vast tracts of forest in northeastern Greece over 17 days was in abeyance on Monday, although hundreds of firefighters were still tackling pockets that continued to burn, the fire department said.
Authorities also warned that parts of the country were at risk of flooding due to heavy rainstorms forecast overnight and on Tuesday that could pose a particular threat to fire-ravaged areas.
Reinforcements were sent over the weekend to battle the wildfire burning in the Evros region near the border with Turkey, bringing the total number of firefighters on Monday to 741, backed by 124 vehicles and two aircraft. The blaze has been blamed for the deaths of 20 people, all believed to have been migrants who had recently crossed the border.
“There is no active front in the Evros area right now,” Greece’s minister for civil protection, Vassilis Kikilias, said. “We remain on alert, and the battle obviously continues.”
The fire, which broke out on Aug. 19 near the northeastern city of Alexandroupolis and joined with other blazes to form one massive wildfire, burned more than 93,000 hectares (230,000 acres) of land by Sunday, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service, making it the largest single blaze to hit an EU country since records began in 2000.
Wildfires are common in Greece and other southern European countries during their hot, dry summers.
Dozens of fires have been breaking out each day across the country for weeks, with the fire department saying its forces tackled 82 wildfires between Sunday afternoon and Monday afternoon, with 51 of them having broken out in those 24 hours.