A rapidly spreading wildfire triggered evacuations in central Crete Wednesday afternoon, according to the European Union’s Space Program.
The program’s Earth observation satellite, Copernicus, was activated on Thursday to assist emergency management services on the fire. An initial rough estimation, fire extent, and damage assessment will reportedly be published on Friday.
Police are conducting door-to-door checks in the village of Agia Paraskevi with a focus on evacuating elderly residents, according to Copernicus’ situational report.
“The fire in Rethymno, Crete, which started around noon, has spread to three fronts,” the report read. “The fire spread rapidly due to strong winds and threatened the village of Agia Paraskevi. The residents of Agia Paraskevi had to be evacuated and a 112 message was sent out. 61 vehicles with 110 firefighters, 85 ground personnel, 6 helicopters, and 4 airplanes were used to fight the fire, supported by municipal vehicles/machinery and volunteer organizations.”
Numerous other 112 evacuation alerts were sent to other communities near Agia Paraskevi Thursday morning, including Rizikas, Sata, Apodoulou, Platanos, and Vathiakou.
Fire officials told the Athens daily newspaper Kathimerini that the wildfire is difficult to control after spreading into ravines, and because local firefighting services are strained from battling 28 other active wildfires on the island.
Researchers warned Greece and other areas in Southern Europe to prepare for an intense wildfire season at the beginning of July. Data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) showed elevated forest fire risk across the region caused by increased drought and rising global temperatures, driven by humans burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and increased animal agriculture land usage.
“According to the seasonal forecast from EFFIS, the Balkans, Greece, and southern France will likely have a hot summer with relatively little precipitation,” said Dr Johannes Kaiser from the Norwegian Institute for Air Research’s Department of Atmosphere and Climate. “What is certain is that human, ecologic and economic costs from wildfires only can be reduced if adequate emergency prevention, response, and recovery measures are implemented in a sustainable and regionally adapted manner.”
