A massive wildfire that ignited last Saturday in Greece’s northeastern Evros region has been declared the country’s most extensive blaze in the past two decades, according to a statement by the National Observatory of Athens on Thursday.
Further details were provided through data furnished by the European Commission’s Copernicus mapping service. The observatory revealed that as of noon on August 23, wildfires in the Alexandroupolis and Dadia areas of the region had consumed a staggering 292,587 hectares (722,998 acres) of forested land, leaving behind a trail of devastation.
In a broader context, it was disclosed that a total of 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) of forested area across Greece have fallen victim to wildfires in 16 distinct mega blazes since 2007, with the ongoing conflagration in Evros standing out as the largest of them all.
European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, took to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to address the severity of the situation. Lenarcic stated that the wildfires ravaging Alexandroupolis represent the most considerable challenge the European Union has ever confronted in terms of wildfires. He also underscored the imperative of enhancing national and collective prevention and preparedness measures to better navigate the increasingly severe fire seasons.
Driven by powerful winds and scorching temperatures, the wildfires in Greece have persisted for a relentless six days, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
