Greece Fires from Space seen by the NOAA AVHRR and SeaWiFS
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A heat signature (red) and what appears to be the burn
scar from the wildfire on the Greek island of
Samos is visible in this NOAA-14 image. The burn scar covers about 30% of the central
portion of
the island. The right image shows several heat signatures (red) are visible from fires
burning in central Greece.
Additional fires may be obscured by clouds.
(Source: NESDIS/OSEI)
Hot, dry weather has contributed to a string of fires that burned in
Greece during the first two weeks of July 2000.
Smoke from one of these fires is streaming across Greece and out into the Aegean Sea in
this image taken 13 July 2000,
by the Sea-viewing Wide Field of view Sensor (SeaWiFS).
(image provided by Earth
Observatory/NASA)
Fires in Bulgaria and Romania
Heat signatures (red) are visible from a number of fires burning along
the eastern border between
Bulgaria and Romania, and in southeastern Bulgaria.
(Source: NESDIS/OSEI)
Greece seeks international help against forest fires (17 July 2000)
Greece on Friday called for international help to fight nearly a dozen major forest fires
raging unchecked for a second day, as strong winds hampered efforts to extinguish blazes
across the country. Firefighters, forest rangers and the army joined forces with local
volunteers in a desperate effort to put out over 100 forest and brush fires that flared up
on Thursday, destroying thousands of acres of forests, farmland and numerous houses. Many
of the fires receded overnight as strong winds died down temporarily, but blazes on nine
main fronts continued and there were concerns that other fires could reignite as the winds
picked up again. "We remain on a constant state of alert as we expect northerly winds
to pick up again," government spokesman Dimitris Reppas told reporters. He added that
tourists faced no danger. Amid some of the most devastating fires to hit Greece in recent
years, the government said it would hire an extra 1,500 forest rangers to battle the
blazes, on top of 4,000 seasonal firefighters already called in to assist 9,500
full-timers. A total of 52 fire-fighting planes and helicopters are being used to battle
the blazes on the mainland and on islands.
Help from abroad
The call for international help was made as those fighting the latest fires approached
exhaustion in their efforts to put out the blazes. A recent heatwave, that began 12 days
ago, and scores of other fires around the country have taken their toll. The Russian
government, which has already sent eight fire fighting helicopters, was planning to send
two II-76 planes, capable of carrying 42 tonnes of water. The Israeli and Czech
governments also pledged resources to help fight the Greek fires. Israel has already sent
50 men, two Sikorsky fire-fighting helicopters and C-130 airplane, while the Czech
Republic has pledged four airplanes and two helicopters. Germany was also due to send two
helicopters and a C-130 plane on Friday, along with four more helicopters on Saturday. The
mainland prefectures of Corinthia, west of Athens, and Achaia in the Peloponnese were
among the worst hit. A 25 km (15 mile) wall of fire raged on in Corinthia, with numerous
villages abandoned and more than 30 houses burned. At least 12 people were taken to
hospital, suffering from minor burns and smoke inhalation. Thousands of concerned
residents in Corinthia spent the night on beaches and in main town squares after they
abandond their homes as the flames neared. Most spent a sleepless night as fires and smoke
on nearby burning hillsides approached. Fires on the eastern Aegean islands of Chios and
Rhodes were brought under control, but two hotels on the lush northern Aegean island of
Thassos had to be evacuated as a precaution as flames and smoke from burning pine forests
neared. Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said that the fires were no reason for
panic and that everything was under control. "No human life has been in danger so
far...all forces are ready to deal with any potential problems," he said.
Christodoulakis also said that no scheduled or charter flights to Greece had been
cancelled.
(Information Source: Story by Philip Pangalos, Reuters News Service)
Update: Sunday, 16 July 2000, 12:15 local time (09:30 UTC)
The forest fire situation in Greece has been improving steadily since Friday. After the
passage of a dry cold front on Thursday, which started 184 difficult to control fires
within one day, the firefighting forces started getting the situation back into control.
Approximately 30 fires escaped initial attack on Thursday. Less than 15 were burning out of control by Thursday evening. By Saturday morning only four of the large fires were still active: northern coast of Peloponnese, Pelion peninsula in central Greece, Thassos island in Northern Greece, and Pindos mountain near Konitsa in northwestern Greece. Eighty-four other fires that started on Friday were all controlled immediately.
The Greek government urgently contracted six additional CAMOV helicopters in support of its already strong but stressed other aerial and ground firefighting forces. The Israeli government also sent two Sikhorsky helicopters. Additional help offered by other nations was not accepted as it became evident that the situation was getting under control.
Starting Saturday, it started raining in Western and Northern Greece, bringing much needed relief to the firefighting forces. Although only the fire on Pindos mountain received rain, the overall situation became easier as air relative humidity increased significantly.
Unfortunately, early on Saturday morning, one of the Canadair CL-215 planes fighting the fire on Pelion peninsula, crashed on the slope of a hill after releasing its load on flames burning tall shrub vegetation. Witnesses stated that one of the wings hit a tall pine tree, which protruded from the shrub vegetation. The two pilots were killed on the spot.
Fire danger is forecasted as low to medium over most of the country for today and tomorrow. As the last three fires are now practically under control, it is hoped that the firefighting forces will have the opportunity to mop-up and guard them effectively, and also to rest and reorganize before the next increase in fire danger.
Dr. Gavriil Xanthopoulos
Forester – Forest Fire Specialist
GFMC Correspondent, Athens, Greece
e-mail: gxnrtc@acropolis.net
Retrospective: International Response on Friday, 14 July 2000
On 14 July 2000 the GFMC posted the following message at 14:45 GMT:
The call of the Greek government for international assistance in fighting the forest fires in the country three countries so far have offered support. The Czech Republic, Israel and Germany will immediately dispatch firefighters.
The German contribution will consist of a group a specialized fire fighting vehicles and other equipment which will be rushed to Athens by an AN-124 transport plane. The plane will leave Hahn Airport (Germany) at 21:00 local time and land in Athens. The on-site coordinator of the group will arrive in Greece tonight.
The German fire brigades will be dispatched to Peloponnes Peninsula.
Communication Channels:
The cell phone number of the on-site German coordinator Mr. Richard van Hazebrouck is:
++49-172-9109011
A Greek liaison to the German on-site coordinator is Mr. Georgios Radoglou. His cell
phone is: ++30-944-512-634
The GFMC is ready to assist further international coordination and can be reached via
Tel. ++49-761-808011
At 14:55 GMT the following message was given to the German agencies
involved:
Dear colleagues,
the GFMC update concerning the German fire-fighting aid was removed from the GFMC website
because the operation was cancelled some minutes ago.
J.Goldammer
Head, GFMC
For short-to long term fire-weather forecasts for southern Europe see the Experimental Climate Prediction Center (ECPC) web site.
Europe fire-weather forecast for tomorrow, Wednesday 19 July 2000
Europe fire-weather forecast (weekly) for the time period 15-23 July
2000
(Source: ECPC)
The last national fire report from Greece (1999) was published in IFFN April 2000 issue.