Wildfire evacuation warning issued in northern Greece after father and son die in separate blaze
Authorities in central Greece urged residents to evacuate as over 130 firefighters and aircraft battle a wildfire
THESSALONIKI, Greece -- Authorities urged residents of two villages in central Greece to evacuate on Wednesday as more than 135 firefighters and 25 aircraft battled a wildfire, a day after a forest fire in northern Greece killed a father and his 12-year-old son.
Firefighters on Wednesday identified a body found inside a home destroyed by the fire the previous day as that of the boy. His father's body was found Tuesday outside the property, which was in a woodland area northeast of the northern city of Thessaloniki. The boy’s mother is being treated for burns in a hospital.
Wednesday’s fire was burning through forest and agricultural land in the central Greek region of Fthiotida, the fire department said. Nineteen water-dropping planes, six helicopters and 135 firefighters backed up by volunteers and special forest fire units were tackling the blaze.
At least three other wildfires broke out in Greece on Wednesday — one in the northern region of Halkidiki, another on the island of Salamina, near the Greek capital, and a third in southern Greece. All three were quickly contained, the fire department said.
While Greece suffers frequent wildfires during its hot, dry summers, it has so far been spared the heatwaves that have scorched much of western Europe in recent weeks.
In 2018, a blaze east of Athens killed more than 100 people, while a massive fire in 2023 which tore through a remote nature reserve in northeastern Greece was the largest wildfire ever recorded in the European Union.
The country has increasingly turned to technology to combat the threat of fires, exacerbated by climate change. It is integrating a dedicated array of four satellites, launched into low orbit in May, that will monitor for wildfires.
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