Where did the wildfires occur?
On 11 August, a wildfire broke out in Varnavas, a town in Greece, located 35 kilometres to the northeast of the Athens. The wildfires spread through the forests quickly and reached the suburbs. Athens was surrounded by flames up to 25 metres and thousands of residents were evacuated from hospitals, monasteries, and children’s home. Within Athens, suburbs like Nea Penteli and Vrilissia were among the worst affected. At least 100 homes reportedly suffered damage, while satellite images by the National Observatory of Athens showed the fire had damaged about 10,000 hectares of land. Apart from Athens, surrounding towns like Grammatiko, Marathon, and Nea Makri were also affected by the fires.
 
In response to the fires, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece announced the highest possible red alert. To combat, the Government sent over 760 firefighters, at least 16 teams of forest commandos and vehicles, 17 aeroplanes, and 15 helicopters.  Additionally, the Hellenic Army, the armed forces of Greece, and several volunteers also helped in tackling the fires. By 13 August, through the efforts, the wildfires were reduced to only a few areas. Several European countries assisted the Greek government through the European Civil Protection Mechanism. This includes, Romania, Italy, France, Cyprus, and Czechia which planned to send firefighters and aircraft to help Greece tackle the fires. The Mitsotakis administration also offered several relief measures for victims; including interest-free loans to rebuild homes with no property tax for three years, a support payment of EUR 10,000 and business owners relieved from tax payments for six months.
 
Why does the wildfires recur?
Greece is no stranger to wildfires, it has become increasingly common in the past years. In 2023, Greece witnessed wildfires that left at least 28 people dead and burned a total of 1800 square kilometres. It was also the longest heatwave in Greece’s history which lasted up to 17 days, with temperatures crossing 43 degrees Celsius. Greece’s position in the Mediterranean, is one of the fastest warming regions making it particularly vulnerable to extreme heat. Christos Zerefos, a Greek geologist and Secretary-General at the research establishment, the Academy of Athens stated that Greece being close to Africa allows hot, dust-bearing winds called ‘Sirocco’ or ‘Khamsin’ to make their way from across the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea towards Greece. According to Zerefos, these dry winds cause the local vegetation to dry up, increasing the likelihood of fires occurring. He believes that another factor hampering Greece’s responses to crises is its geography as an archipelago of islands. The islands have different ecosystems of their own, and differ in terms of infrastructure levels; which makes a unified response difficult.
 
Another problem attributed to the increasing forest fires has been the rapid expansion of residential areas.  Natural habitats like forests have witnessed growing human settlements and encroachments, with cities expanding more. For instance, several suburbs in Athens were located close to the pine forest area, meaning that the residents in those suburbs were at direct risk from the fires. Excessive immigration to cities in Greece has also resulted in lower populations living in forested areas, meaning that excess biomass or organic material from the forests can no longer be removed by individuals as it was before. This has allowed branches, twigs, and bushes to accumulate, and become a source of ignition during wildfires.

What is the government response?
The Greek government has taken several steps to deal with the problem of wildfires. One of these is the creation of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection. Another step taken by the Greek government is providing companies with carbon credits as an incentive to remove extra biomass from the forests. Similarly, causing a forest fire was declared a criminal offence. The Greek government has also planned early warning and intervention signs for wildfires like placing temperature measurement sensors and cameras in high-risk forests, greater firefighter recruitment, and reforestation helping build caution mechanisms. However, the critics argue that the country still lacks a proper plan to tackle the issue. According to them, initiatives such as the opting support of the local communities to tackle wildfires by coordinating preparedness and removing flammable materials from forests remain as mere regulations rather than being implemented.
 
The government measures to tackle Greece’s wildfires have proven to be substantial for temporary while devastating wildfires recur consequently causing damage to citizens and the environment. There is a need for a governmental plan to tackle the problem for long-term and it is essential to implement a sustainable plan to control the wildfires and prevent frequent evacuation.
 
References
Edna Mohamed, “How serious are the wildfires near Athens, Greece?,”Al Jazeera, 13 August 2024
Helena Smith, “ Greece takes stock of wildfires that raged through Athens suburbs,” The Guardian, 13 August 2024
Kevin Shalvey, Morgan Winsor and Meredith Deliso, “No active wildfires after hundreds of firefighters battled outbreak near Athens,” ABC News, 14 August 2024
“ Forest fires in Greece: Experts explain why extreme weather is battering the Mediterranean country,” Euro News, 12 August 2024
Matthaios Tsimitakis, “Greece is fighting wildfires the wrong way,” Al Jazeera, 17 September 2023
Julia Kaiser, “ Hot temperatures, few safeguards: wildfires could rekindle in Greece,” The Parliament Magazine,  18 January 2024
Harry Aposporis, “Greece to subsidize removal of excess biomass to protect forests from fire,” Balkan Green Energy News, 13 October 2023