Wildfires in Europe, S 64E downs in sea near Athens

By David Bruce

Wildfires continue to rage across south-eastern Europe in the midst of a prolonged heatwave.

The wildfires in Greece were marked with the downing of helicopter into the sea off Elefsina, west of Athens, six days ago. The Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane “Delilah” appeared to be collecting water when it all went wrong. All crew are reported safe and the damaged aircraft was recovered.

This is how it is meant to work. Here is the sea snorkel in action courtesy of Erickon, who have a long association with supporting aerial firefighting in Greece, among many other places, with the S64E:

Modis Web (NASA) reports that the summer of soaring temperatures and drought set the stage for abundant wildfires across Eastern Europe in late July 2025. There were 5 active wildfires in Macedonia and 11 burning in Albania, with temperatures near at or near 40°C (104°F) registering in those countries as well as Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Greece.

Firefighters are battling five fires on Sunday across the Greek islands of Evia, Kythira and Crete, as well as in the Peloponnese area, west of Athens, as temperatures reached highs of 40C.

On July 25, a severe wildfire near Delvinia, Albania caused the evacuation of more than 2,000 people, according to local news. Three individuals were injured with burns and smoke inhalation injuries. On July 27, Zoom Earth advised that the largest fire in Albania had scorched 17,997 acres. A second large fire covered more than 2,900 acres while the largest fire burned on 23,225 acres.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of wildfires and smoke across Albania on July 24. Actively burning fires are marked by red “hot spots” and gray smoke. The largest wildfire at the time of this image was the one near Delvinia, in southern Albania.

Torrential rains follow wildfires in Greece

Reuters reported today that torrential rains have flooded homes, businesses, and roads in Greece — with at least one death reported after a man died when a wall collapsed, according to fire officials on Tuesday.

The Guardian reported that Greece has been stricken by hundreds of wildfires this summer, with dozens of new fires starting each day. Most are controlled quickly but some have exceeded fire services’ capacity. One fire in the northeast has destroyed homes and vast tracts of forest since it took off on August 19.

Another fire on the island of Rhodes burned for days in July, forcing holidaymakers and locals to evacuate homes and hotels.

Storm Daniel has battered much of Greece since Monday, with  hundreds of calls to emergency services to pump out water just days after a deadly wildfire that has burned for more than two weeks in the north was finally controlled.

Meanwhile, videos posted online on August 23 show Greek members of the political extreme right illegally “arresting” migrants in Evros, a Greek region that borders Turkey. The videos show militants forcing men to sit in the dirt while other migrants were crammed into a trailer. The attackers accuse the migrants of being responsible for the widespread fires in the region.

Two Greek pilots killed in CL-215 crash

Two pilots died when a firefighting Canadair scooper dropping water on a fire in the south of Greece crashed after a water drop; Greece’s air force confirmed that the pilots were killed on the island of Evia.

The Independent reported that two Hellenic Air Force pilots, Commander Christos Moulas, 34, and his 27-year-old co-pilot Pericles Stefanidis, were killed when their Canadair CL-215 crashed on Tuesday.

The accident occurred near the town of Karystos on the island of Evia near Athens, where a fire has been burning for several days. Local media reported that the plane’s wing clipped a tree after a drop; two helicopters and several ambulances responded immediately.

An Agence France-Presse report said the aircraft plunged into a ravine after clipping the tree. A fire service spokesman told the BBC the aircraft was a Greek Air Force plane.

A third successive heat wave in Greece has pushed temperatures back above 40°C (104°F) across parts of the country following more nighttime evacuations ahead of fires that have burned out of control for many days. The latest evacuations were ordered on the islands of Corfu and Evia, and a wildfire on the island of Rhodes has been moving inland.

Hundreds of firefighters, helped by forces from Turkey and Slovakia, have been battling the Rhodes fire since Wednesday after it resurged in hot and windy conditions. Tourists have been warned of the extreme fire risk in Crete, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cautioned residents and visitors about tough days ahead.

“All of us are standing guard,” he said. “In the face of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate change hotspot, there is no magical defense mechanism — if there was we would have implemented it.”
~ Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

A three-day period of mourning in the armed forces has been announced in memory of the pilots who died. Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said they lost their lives in “the line of duty … while attempting to protect the lives and property of citizens, as well as the environment of our country.”

The accident occurred nearly 16 years to the day when two Greek pilots lost their lives fighting wildfires on July 23, 2007. (Another crash near Athens had a much happier outcome back in 2016.)

The Guardian posted video of the accident, claiming the scooper was “spraying water” before the crash.

 ~ Thanks and a tip of the hardhat to Alex, Bob, and Tim.

Firefighters in Greece struggling with another heatwave

Firefighters in Greece are fighting to contain a wildfire west of Athens that has burned through forestland for a fifth day; Reuters and other news outlets are reporting that airtankers and reinforcements from several countries including Cyprus, France, Israel, and Italy are working the fire near Athens that’s burned homes and forced evacuations.

Greece forecast is for 47C
 

On Friday, Greek firefighters were working  nearly 80 fires across the country, and the government on Friday announced relief measures for affected households, including financial aid and subsidies for residential rent.

Climate Crisis Minister Vassilis Kikilias urged residents to remain on guard. The risk of wildfires in the coming days will remain high, and more hot weather is forecasted. “We are having a very difficult three-day spell,” he said, “with extreme weather conditions and very high temperatures followed by strong winds.” He added that after a short respite, another heatwave was then forecast from the middle of next week.

With temperatures expected to hit 45°C (113°F) over the weekend, during the height of the summer tourist season, the Culture Ministry announced that all archaeological sites including the Acropolis monument will be closed between 12 noon and 5.30 p.m. until at least July 23.

Meteorologists are warning that extreme temperatures will persist till at least the end of July.

Two killed when firefighting helicopter crashes near Greek island

Mi-8 helicopter
Example of an Mi-8 helicopter of the Croation Air Force at Lucko Airbase, September, 2007. Photo by Suradnik13.

A firefighting helicopter has crashed in Greece while working on a wildfire  on the island of Samos. The Greek coastguard said the aircraft was carrying four people when it went down in the Aegean Sea on Wednesday afternoon.

Two crew members were found unconscious and were later confirmed to have died. The two others were rescued alive by authorities.

The aircraft involved is believed to be a Soviet-era Mi-8 helicopter, leased for firefighting operations from Ukraine.

Red areas represent heat from fires on Greek island of Samos, July 13, 2022.

A total of three helicopters and five fixed wing aircraft had been mobilized to help firefighters on Samos, according to the Greek Fire Service.

Our sincere condolences go out to the family, friends, and coworkers of the deceased.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Paula.

Greece to have 15 more firefighting aircraft than last year

Ten Erickson Air Cranes
At least 9 Erickson Air-Cranes photographed together for the first time. October, 2021 in Greece. Photo by Dimitris Klagos. (According to a report from Erickson, there may have been 10 Air-Cranes at the site.)

Greece will strengthen its ability to fight wildfires by having 15 more aircraft than last year, after the government paid an old debt that accumulated over a six-year period.

Because of internal problems, some say corruption, instead of contracting for firefighting aircraft within their own government, between 2011 and 2016 Greece leased air tankers and helicopters through NATO’s Security and Procurement Agency (NSPA). However, according to Athens News, during that period a €8.4 million debt accumulated and NSPA stopped providing the aircraft to Greece. It recently got to the point where according to NSPA regulations, the other NATO countries were going to have to pay the debt. But in January Greece paid what was owed and the NSPA issued a tender for 76 million euros on behalf of Greece’s Hellenic Fire Service. Applications closed February 21.

This year the Hellenic Fire Service expects to have twenty Air Tractor single engine air tankers (up from six last year) and eight Bell helicopters (up from six last year) which have an integrated water tank and can also carry personnel. This year they will once again lease two large Air-Crane helicopters, an ATR 42-500 fixed wing transport aircraft, and a Russian Beriev Be-200 amphibious scooping air tanker (as it did last year).

These aircraft will add to the twenty helicopters (twelve medium and eight heavy) already leased by NSPA under a previous ongoing tender, as well as to the “permanent” fleet of aircraft and helicopters in the country. Thus, the total number of aerial firefighting aircraft this year will increase to 93 from 78 in 2021 (+15).

In 2021 Greece experienced devastating fires beginning in early August, burning 309,000 acres which approached the sum of the burned areas of the previous eight years (2013 – 2020).

Below is a report about the blazes posted by the New York Times August 9, 2021.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom.

Video of five Air-Cranes skimming water in Greece

Air-Crane skimming water
Air-Crane skimming water in Loutropyrgos, August 19, 2021. Still image from video by GVLACOM.

The video below has footage of five different Erickson Air-Cranes flying low over a lake in Greece, skimming water to fill their 2,650-gallon tanks while on a firefighting mission in Loutropyrgos, a city in Attica. You’ll see 748, 747, 740, 734, and 737.

The still images are screen grabs from the video by GVLACOM.

Air-Crane skimming water
Air-Crane skimming water in Loutropyrgos, August 19, 2021. Still image from video by GVLACOM

Air-Crane skimming water
Air-Crane skimming water in Loutropyrgos, August 19, 2021. Still image from video by GVLACOM.

Greece to boost numbers of firefighting aircraft

Evacuation ferry Greece
Evacuees fleeing a wildfire in Greece board a ferry August 9, 2021  under smoky skies. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The government of Greece has plans to increase the number of aircraft that can be used to assist firefighters battling wildfires.

In the wake of devastating fires earlier this month Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated plans Wednesday to purchase and lease additional wildland firefighting aircraft.

From Ekathimerini, August 25, 2021:

Mitsotakis also announced plans to create a special unit made up of forestry experts and firefighters “that will be able to operate more effectively in the forests.”

The conservative leader added that responsibility for firefighting and prevention was passed on from the forest service to the fire department under the socialist PASOK government in 1998.

“It took many years for the fire service to adapt,” he said.

Critics say the decision has undermined fire prevention in the country.

After the fire siege earlier this month, Mr Mitsotakis said there were plans to modernize the aerial firefighting fleet by investing 1.7 billion euro ($2 billion).

“This plan was approved by the cabinet of ministers, and it includes very important support of our air firefighting fleet with the acquisition of new Canadair [water scooping air tankers], small Air Tractor planes [single engine air tankers], and firefighting helicopters,” the Prime Minister said at a press conference August 12.

From ANI:

Along with the modernization of the aerial firefighting fleet, the 1.7 billion euro plan dubbed “Aigis” is seeking to expand the capabilities of the Civll Protection Authority with the procurement of fire detection devices, drones, and other equipment.The funds for this plan have already been secured and come from three sources, the National Strategic Reference Framework funds, the European Investment Bank, and the recovery fund, according to the prime minister.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Rick.