The wildfire has spread in windy and hot weather. The EU has sent a large rescue team to the disaster area.
The wildfire that broke out in Greece a week and a half ago is the biggest fire in the EU this millennium. The fire area has so far been more than 800 square kilometers in extent. The fire area is almost four times larger than the area of the city of Helsinki. According to the Greek authorities, the fire is still not under control in the northeastern part of the country.
The European Forest Fire Information System has registered fires since 2000.
– The wildfires raging in Greece are the largest ever observed in the EU, says a spokesperson for the European Commission Balazs Ujvari today.
The fire that broke out near the city of Alexandroupoli in the Évros region has spread quickly due to strong winds and hot weather. The fire has killed at least 20 people – more than any other wildfire in Europe this summer.
Except for one or two victims, those who died in the fire were migrants who came to Greece through Turkey. According to the authorities, it is possible that more dead people will be found in the fire area. Évros is on the route through which migrants, especially from South Asia and the Middle East, seek to reach the rest of the EU.
The fire has destroyed homes, infrastructure and crops in the Évros region. 400 rescue personnel, twelve airplanes and 60 vehicles have been sent from EU countries to extinguish the fire.
Wildfires are common in Greece in the summer. According to the authorities, it is clear that the cause of the ongoing large fire is the extreme weather phenomena caused by climate change.