Greece has faced more than 400 wildfires in the past 10 days, Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Evangelos Tournas said in an interview on SKAI television on Sunday, August 9.
Tournas said 90% of the fires were caused by negligence. He said gale-force winds grounded firefighting aircraft over Rethymno and the Attica-Boeotia region, and he outlined a plan to reinforce the aerial fleet with Super Puma helicopters and new Canadair CL-515 planes.
680 fines and 274 arrests
Tournas said the country had gone through a difficult 10-day period marked by gale-force winds and very difficult, adverse conditions, during which more than 400 fires broke out.
He said authorities had issued 680 fines and made more than 274 arrests under summary, in-the-act procedure. According to Tournas, 90% of the cases involved arson through negligence, with only 10% deliberate.
He said fires caused the same damage whether they were started intentionally or through negligence, and urged people to avoid any hazardous outdoor activity. He said a careless or inattentive act could destroy the environment, destroy property and even threaten human life.
Tournas also referred to successive major fires that broke out from July 28 in Paros, southern Crete and Boeotia, saying the combination of strong winds, high temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius in the west and 38 to 39 degrees in the east, and dry vegetation made every new outbreak extremely dangerous.
Aircraft grounded by turbulence
Tournas explained that in some cases aerial firefighting units could not operate because of severe wind gusts and extreme turbulence.
Regarding the Rethymno fire front, he said that despite continuous aircraft takeoffs and assistance from a Canadair based in Elefsina, water drops were not possible. He said the fires burning in Rethymno for three days could not be helped by the aerial units.
He said a similar situation occurred in Boeotia. After the fire broke out in Agios Vasileios, aircraft were immediately diverted from Xironomi but without result. He said 51 aircraft received orders from that hour until noon the following day, yet none of them could make a single drop or even draw water.
Citing data from the National Observatory of Athens' Meteo service, Tournas said northeasterly winds acted as katabatic winds over the mountains, with gusts reaching up to 150 kilometers per hour, preventing aircraft from descending below 3,000 feet.
Ground crews and a sea rescue
With aerial firefighting impossible, ground plans were activated. To protect Vilia and the Megara plain, 14 pieces of heavy machinery were deployed, and forest service employees and firefighters halted the fire with great effort, Tournas said.
He said preventive clearing carried out under the AntiNero program was decisive in saving Psatha, allowing crews with heavy machinery to widen and open roads so fire trucks could reach higher ground and stop the fire.
Tournas also described the successful sea evacuation of 254 vacationers and swimmers from Agios Vasileios, carried out with the help of a Fire Service vessel, the ship Mouzakitis, and private boats. He said all 254 people were picked up and transported in complete safety, and he urged citizens to follow official instructions and the 112 emergency line, which he said saves lives.
New aircraft and fleet upgrades
On reinforcing infrastructure, Tournas announced the delivery of eight new Super Puma helicopters, with the first two expected in autumn. He also said Greece would begin receiving seven new Canadair CL-515 aircraft from 2028, alongside the upgrade of seven existing CL-415 planes.
He said this would bring the total to 14 such aircraft, describing it as a very powerful force.
Tournas concluded that technology cannot overcome every extreme natural phenomenon, which is why emphasis must be placed on preventive measures. He said the priority, above all, was to keep investing in prevention.
