Greece: The 1992 Forest Fire Season in Greece (IFFN No. 8 – January 1993)

 

The 1992 Forest Fire Season in Greece

(IFFN No. 8 – January 1993, p. 8)

Unlike 1991, Greece had a very “hot” and prolonged fire season during 1992. Up to the end of September, 1815 fires burned 42,000 ha out of which 12,000 ha approximately were high forest. During the same period last year (1991), 791 fires burned 11,800 ha. Thus, on the average, the area burned per fire was 21.3 ha in 1992 as opposed to 14.9 in 1991. The remarkable difference is attributed to heavy spring and summer rainfall during 1991. Also, a new law that permits the former owners of abandoned agricultural fields which have been forested over many years to reclaim them from the State is assumed to have had a very significant effect on the wave of forest fires that swept through Greece during 1992.

The Aegean islands and the Attica peninsula paid the heaviest toll. The fire season started with a 500 ha fire on Lesbos Island and ended on 2 October with a huge 4000 ha fire on Rhodes Island (set accidentally by an apiarist) which burned most of the forests at the southern end of the island and during which a firefighter lost his life. Rhodes forests were also burned 1985 and 1987, causing an extreme ecological loss and a heavy impact on island tourism.

The largest fire of the season was a proven case of incendiarism on the Attica peninsula which burned during 4-5 September, started near Kiourka village, and caused panic in the heavily populated area. Great publicity was given to this fire and the Prime Minister himself was involved in the fire control efforts and rehabilitation of the burned area.

 

 

From: Alexander P.Dimitrakopoulos
Address:
University of the Aegean
Department of Environmental Studies
17 Karadoni Str.
GR-81 100 Mytilene

Country Notes

 

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Greece: The 1993 Forest Fire Season in Greece (IFFN No. 10 – January 1994)

 

The 1993 Forest Fire Season in Greece

(IFFN No. 10 – January 1994, p. 11-12)

Last year was a record year in the forest fire history of Greece: during the fire season from May to October, 2417 fires ravaged Greek forests, marking an all-time record in the fire statistics of Greece since the national average does not exceed 1100 fires per year. Approximately 47,000 ha of forest land were burned by these fires during 1993.

This dramatic increase in the number of forest fires can be primarily attributed to the following reasons:

  • A new law that legalised unlawful, arbitrary private structures in public forest lands that were previously burned, gave rise to a “wave” of arson in public forests. The prospect of subsequent arbitrary construction on the burned sites that would be rendered legal by taking advantage of the new law, during a year of national elections like 1993, was very tempting!
  • Equally important, a wave of illegal immigrants from Albania crossed the border in Northern Greece and, through remote forest trails, crossed the mountainous regions in order to seek temporary employment at the urban centres of Thessaloniki and Athens. These people, having to spend nights in the open air inside the forests, have caused many forest fires by negligence (abandoned camping fires) or malice (animosity towards immigration authorities). Many of these fires burned in areas of low fire risk, such as the high elevation forests of fir, beech and black pine of Northern Greece.
  • A third reason, independent of human acts, is the prolonged drought that has continued in Greece for four consecutive years and has left Southern Greece without a single drop of rain for 4.5 months!

At the same time, many extraordinary events marked the unique 1993 fire season in Greece:

  • An arson fire on the island of Ikaria in the Northeast Aegean sea, cost the lives of 11 farmers who were burned in their efforts to escape from the fire or were suffocated by smoke inside their homes. A National day of mourning was declared, and the Prime Minister visited the fire-stricken island, promising increased fire protection measures for all Greece.
  • Unlike other years, Northern Greece experienced many destructive fires, similar to those that traditionally occur in the drier and more flammable regions of Southern Greece which are covered by Mediterranean-type vegetation (maquis, garriques). Thus, high-elevation forest of fir, beech and black pine, located in Northern Greece, that had never experienced fires since the Second World War due to existing climatic (cold, humid areas) and socio-economic conditions (lack of population pressure or grazing intensity), were destroyed by fires set by illegal immigrants who entered the country through them. The geographical regions of Epirus and Macedonia had a record-high of 400 and 600 fires, respectively, which burned over 20,000 ha of high forest. Thus, Northern Greece did not escape forest fires this year.
  • The National Parks of “Valia Calda” in Epirus, covered with magnificent black pine forests, and “Olympus Mountain” in Macedonia, covered by fir forests, were burned. Thus, picturesque landscapes of amazing beauty and historical heritage were turned into ashes, leaving homeless the “12 Deities” of the Ancient Greek Pantheon!
  • For the second time, German firefighting helicopters successfully helped in forest firefighting in Greece. The helicopters were sent “gratis” by the German Government to Greece. Ten helicopters hired from a Canadian company, were used in forest fire fighting, after the successful German example in Greece.
  • A smokejumper unit was formed for the first time in Greece. It consists of former members of the “special forces” of the Greek Army who received special training. Bureaucracy and lack of funds delayed the unit’s deployment until late in the fire season, and its effectiveness is therefore difficult to assess.
  • Two huge forest fires, set for grazing land improvement at Peloponese (Megalopoli Arkadias) and Crete (Lasithi), burned over 4,000 ha each and destroyed farms and other agricultural property, forcing the temporary evacuation of whole villages. Thus, the role of farmers in forest fire prevention and protection is under consideration, while the possibility of introducing prescribed burning in Greece is being reexamined.

In 1993 once again forest fires monopolized the headlines of news in the mass media, increasing public awareness and rendering forest fires the number one environmental problem of Greece over the last fifteen years.

 

 

From: Alexander P.Dimitrakopoulos
Address:
University of the Aegean
Department of Environmental Studies
17 Karadoni Str.
GR-81 100 Mytilene

Country Notes

 

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Greece: Wildland Fire Science at Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICH) (IFFN No. 10 – January 1994)

 

Wildland Fire Science at Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania
(MAICH)

(IFFN No. 10 – January 1994, p. 13-14)

Introduction

The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICH) has established a modern Wildland Fire Science Laboratory as a part of major research facilities in 1993. The establishment was partly supported by EEC funds. The complexity of the wildland fire problem requires basic and applied research combined with education and training in modern methods and technologies from various scientific disciplines. The objectives of the Wildland Fire Science Laboratory at MAICH therefore are twofold:

  • Promote basic and applied research on the principles, management and ecology of wildland fires.
  • Provide post-graduate education and training with updated methods and modern technologies in wildland fire prevention, suppression and management in combination with ecological considerations.

Instrumentation

The instrumentation of the laboratory provides the most modern technological means in the field of fire and pyrolysis analysis:

  • Automatic data loggers equipped with thermocouples for high temperature measurements
  • A thermal analysis system for determining pyric properties and combustion processes of wildland fuels, consisting of (a) differential scanning calorimetry, and (b) thermogravimetric analyser
  • Adiabatic bomb calorimeter for measuring the calorific value of different substances
  • Gas chromatography
  • Friction chamber for silica-ash determination
  • Field instrumentation for fuel measurements and fire weather monitoring
  • Instrumentation for prescribed burning documentation
  • Complete collection of software packages on fire behaviour simulation, fire danger rating, fuel modelling and wildland fire management decision making

Research

The complete and updated instrumentation of the laboratory enables basic and applied research in various aspects of fire science:

  • Fire behaviour principles
  • Combustion processes
  • Pyrolysis and thermochemical reactions
  • Analysis of physical and chemical properties of fuels
  • Inflammability and combustibility
  • Pyric parameters
  • Fire ecology
  • Fire effects
  • Fire management systems
  • Fire suppression organisation operations research.

The Fire Science Laboratory of MAICH is engaged in the following research programs:

  • Programme ENVIRONMENT: “Modelling of forest fires”. The project aims at developing a wildland fire behaviour prediction model with managerial implications.
  • Programme STRIDE: ” Rehabilitation of burned areas and wildland fire prevention”. The project seeks to create a system for forest fire risk assessment based on meteorological data and to provide training in fire prevention and control methods.
  • Programme AIR: “Conservation and protection of low-elevation Mediterranean coniferous forests threatened by wildfires”. The role of fires as an ecosystem process and evolutionary force in Mediterranean-type ecosystems is investigated.

Education

MAICH is one of the four agronomic institutes of the international Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (ICAMAS). It is an educational organisation which offers graduate study programs leading to the M.Sc. degree. The Department of Environmental and Renewable Resources offers in its curriculum courses on Wildland Fire Ecology and Management. Among them, an intensive course on “Ecology and Management of Wildland Fires in the Mediterranean Region” is attended by many international students who are exposed to modern laboratory technologies as part of their education. Visiting faculty members and researchers participate in the educational and research procedures at MAICH.

A number of competent graduate students is conducting research for their M.Sc. degrees in the discipline of Wildland Fire Science using the laboratory facilities.

 

 

From: Alexander P.Dimitrakopoulos
Scientific Responsible, Wildland Fire Laboratory
Address:
Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania
Department of Environmental and Renewable Resources
P.O. Box 85
Alsyllio Agrokipiou
GR – 73100 Chania (Crete)

Phone: ++30-821-81153
Fax:     ++30-821-81154

Country Notes

 

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Greece: The 1994 Forest Fire Season (IFFN No. 12 – January 1995)

 

The 1994 Forest Fire Season

(IFFN No. 12 – January 1995, p. 9-11)

Greece had slightly fewer forest fires in 1994 than during the previous year. At the end of October, with the fire season practically over due to heavy rains, a total of 2074 fires had been reported. The area burned was 54.000 hectares which is at the same level as in the last two years (Fig. 1 and 2).

The Greek Forest Service had anticipated a difficult fire season from the start of the summer. Contrary to the previous years that had been very dry, plenty of rain fell all over the country during the growing season resulting in unusually heavy growth of grasses and forbs. July and August were dry as usual with unnaturally hot and dry weather extending through all of September, prolonging the fire season.

The heavy load of grasses, once cured in the summer months, favoured quick fire acceleration and extreme rates of spread. As usual, a small number of fires that escaped initial attack under high winds became very large burning between 2,000 and 4,000 hectares. Most of these fires burned, in addition to the forest lands, unusually high acreage of agricultural lands, mainly olive groves. This was due to the high loading of grasses under the crop trees.

The difficulty of the fire season did not result in a larger burned area, which was due to the increased firefighting ability and effort of the Greek Forest Service with the help in many instances of the Urban Firefighting Service. The fleet of forest firefighting vehicles, with the recent addition of two hundred 4X4 semi-trucks equipped with slip-on firefighting units and 40 new UNIMOG 2150, exceeded a total of 600 vehicles. A total of 6000 seasonal employees, in addition to the permanent Forest Service personnel, manned this fleet. This force resulted in improved initial attack capability that was strengthened further by 375 specially trained airborne firefighters.

The airborne firefighters were deployed in ten helicopter bases and were transported for initial attack to the fires by helicopters that were made available by the Greek Armed Forces. The helicopters used were medium-size Bell UH-1H (Huey) and heavy lift CHINOOK CH-47. In addition to firefighter transport, the helicopters were also used for firefighting carrying water with “Bambi” buckets.

An important priority in firefighting in 1994 was the effort to avoid loss of life and housing property. In the last fifteen years there has been an increasing trend in forest fire related deaths. More than twenty lives were lost in 1993 alone. A major cause of this increase, which has also contributed to the increase in the total number of fires, is the development of extensive urban-wildland interface areas in the last two decades. The effort for protection of such areas was successful and loss of life was avoided there. Of course, this high priority effort put a heavy load on the firefighting forces reducing their ability to control the spread of the fire as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the accidental crash of a Bell UH-1H helicopter in September on its return trip from a mission caused the death of 7 airborne firefighters and the 3-man crew. The official investigation that followed attributed the accident to pilot error.

 

Fig.1. Number of forest fires in Greece during the period 1980-1994
(will be added later)

 

Fig.2. Burned area per year in Greece during the period 1980-1994
(will be added later)

 

 

From: Gavriil Xanthopoulos
Forester – Forest Fire Specialist
Address:
Ministry of Agriculture
General Secretariat of Forests and Natural Environment
3-5 Ippokratous str.
GR – Athens 10164

 

Country Notes

 

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Greece: The 1995 Forest Fire Season (IFFN No. 14 – January 1996)

 

The 1995 Forest Fire Season

(IFFN No. 14 – January 1996, p. 23-26)

1995 was a better than average year, with respect to forest fires, for Greece. At the end of October, with the fire season practically over due to heavy rains, a total of 1572 forest fires had been reported. The area burned was 25,186 hectares which is approximately half the area burned for each of the three previous years (Fig.1 and 2).

In spite of the good overall results, one large fire at the mountain of Penteli, in Attica, a distance of a few kilometres NE of Athens, burned 6,500 hectares in three days (21-24 July 1995) and created, both nationally and internationally, the impression of a catastrophic fire season. A short description of the evolution of this fire follows.

The Fire on Penteli Mountain

The fire started around 08:00 on 21 July, in a thick Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis) forest, under an unusually strong northerly wind with gusts reaching 75 km/hr. This wind had started blowing on the previous day and continued at this strength throughout the first two days of the fire. An extreme fire danger warning had been issued on 19 July for the next four days. Three other fires, at short distances from Penteli mountain, that erupted in the sixteen hours preceding the Penteli fire, were controlled successfully in spite of the adverse conditions. However, they drained resources from Penteli for their suppression and mop-up. These efforts were still in progress at the time the large fire started.

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Fig.1. Number of forest fires in Greece in the period 1980-1995

 

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Fig.2. Burned area per year in Greece in the period 1980-1995

 

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Fig.3. Mean burned area per fire in Greece in the period 1980-1995

The fire on Penteli mountain started next to a road with quite heavy traffic and was reported immediately, through mobile phone, by drivers who stopped and tried unsuccessfully to extinguish it. It accelerated quickly and in a very short time developed into a crown fire exhibiting extreme fire behavior including medium and long range spotting. The ground forces dispatched to the fire were unable to control it. The aerial means (amphibian Canadair CL-215 airtankers and CHINOOK CH-47D helicopters with bambi-buckets [7 m3]) that were already operating on two of the other fires in the area were diverted immediately to this fire but were unable to perform efficiently due to extreme wind-caused turbulences.

The fire soon reached an extensive urban-wildland interface area where a number of villages and individual homes were close to or even within the thick Aleppo pine forest. A gigantic effort started at that time to save people and homes while trying to control the fire at the same time. The main fire front was controlled by the evening of 21 July. More than 2000 ha had burned by that time. Subsequent runs on the flanks, as the wind shifted direction and efforts concentrated on saving homes and lives, gradually increased the burned area to its final size.

More than ninety fire trucks of the Forest Service and the Municipal Fire Service were dispatched to this fire. Some of them were sent from areas at distances exceeding 500 km from Athens. Approximately forty tanker-trucks belonging to the municipalities were used for the supply of the fire trucks with water. More than 1150 firefighters and 1400 soldiers were also involved. They were supported by a large number of volunteers.

Nearly all the heavy aerial firefighting means of the country were involved in the suppression efforts. Nine CL-215 amphibian water bombers, one MAFFS equipped C-130 air tanker and two CHINOOK CH-47D helicopters were used for class A foam, fire retardant and water drops respectively, while two BELL UH-1H “Huey” helicopters were used for reconnaissance and coordination. This fleet was augmented, after the first day, by two Canadair CL-415 water bombers that were sent by the Italian government and one FOKKER-27 airtanker plus one BE-20 lead-plane sent by the French government in a highly appreciated move of international cooperation in disaster management. A fleet of six helicopters sent by the government of Germany arrived on the third day of the fire and was dispatched to support firefighting efforts in another significant fire close to Patras, in Peloponese, which finally burned approximately 1000 ha.

The fire of Penteli, burned a total of 105 buildings. Few of them were high quality houses built with reinforced concrete frame, clay-tile roofs etc. Most of the structures that were destroyed were out-houses, mobile homes, small temporary buildings, farm-barns etc. made of flammable materials. In spite of the extreme conditions, no lives were lost which should be credited to the effective coordination of the firefighting forces and the police.

The ecological destruction was heavy, given the significance of the mountain of Penteli for the environment of Athens. A series of actions was started immediately by the Forest Service in an effort to prevent further degradation and erosion problems. Grazing is not allowed to protect natural regeneration. 800 ha that had recently burned again and are not expected to regenerate naturally are being planted with a variety of mainly broadleaf species adapted to the environmental conditions, in an effort to avoid establishment of a new Aleppo pine monoculture that will lead to similar problems in the future. On steep slopes where the possibility of extreme erosion in case of heavy rain causes a fear of serious flooding, the trunks of burned pines are cut and laid on the ground parallel to the contours, tied with wire to the tall stumps left on the site. They are expected to function as dams reducing the eroding force of water. Many kilometers of rows of such “dams” have already been constructed.

An overview of the fire season

As mentioned above, the 1995 fire season was a better than average one. The effectiveness of the fire suppression mechanism, as judged by the mean burned area per fire, was the best since 1976 (Fig.3). This can be attributed to some extent to not-so-severe overall weather conditions. However, the quick suppression of many potentially disastrous fires is evidence of the improvements that took place in the firefighting organization. The most important changes were:

  1. Improvements in the selection of the dispatchers at the Firefighting Coordination Centre and in the cooperation between them.
  2. Improvements in the communications network of the firefighting forces including preparation of two command vehicles with sophisticated communications capabilities.
  3. Improvements in maintenance and performance of the country’s fleet of 11 CL-215 amphibian water bombers, as well as addition of foam capability.
  4. Improvements in the distribution of the bases of the fleet of aerial firefighting means which included:
    Airplanes: 11 CL-215, 21 PZL-M18, 3 C-130/MAFFS.
    Helicopters: 4 CHINOOK CH-47D, 7 BELL UH-1H “HUEY”
  5. Increase in the number of well-trained airborne firefighters who are carried to the fire by helicopters, to a number of 500 for the whole country.
  6. Training of 25 foresters on fire cause investigation through a specially designed course offered by specialists from the United States Forest Service.

It should also be mentioned that in 1995 there was no loss of life due to wildfires in sharp contrast with the previous few years. In the future, it is expected to improve on the results of 1995 through improvements in the organization of the forest fire suppression mechanism, stronger prevention efforts, better personnel training and increase in the available ground and aerial firefighting means.

 

 

From: Gavriil Xanthopoulos
Forest Fire Specialist
Address:
Ministry of Agriculture
General Secretariat for Forests
and Natural Environment
3-5 Ippokratous str.
GR – Athens, 10164

Country Notes

 

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Greece: A Synopsis of the Greek Wildland Fire Problem (IFFN No. 4 – December 1990)

 

A Synopsis of the Greek Wildland FireProblem

(IFFN No. 4 – December 1990, p. 6-7)

In 1830, approximately 50% of Greece’s total area was covered by forests while today forest lands have been diminished to less than 18%. Wildland fires always constituted the most serious threat for the Greek forests. Although the coastal forests of Pinus halepensis and Pinus brutia and the degraded natural ecosystems of evergreen sclerophyl brush (maquis vegetation) are well adapted to fire, nevertheless, frequent and repeated fires and subsequent overgrazing denude the land from the vegetation cover, thus exposing it to the intense autumn rains which cause soil depletion and erosion, the main impediments to restoration of prefire vegetation.

During the decade 1960-69, 7,240 fires burned 123,779 ha of forest land. In the next decade (1970-79), although the total number of fires remained the same (7,354), however, the total area burned was almost doubled (203,790 ha). In the last decade (1980-89) there occurred almost twice as many fires (12,635) and total area burned (524,167 ha) than in the previous two decades. The average fire size increased from 17 ha in the 60’s to 20 ha in the 70’s and to 39 ha in the 80’s. This is particularly disappointing since from 1974 the Greek Forest Service was equipped with the state-of-the-art means of forest firefighting, including firefighting aircraft. Presently, Greece has 13 CL-215, 24 PZL-M18, and 3 C-130 forest firefighting aircraft, a fleet which is comparable to other European country’s aerial suppression capabilities. Fire presupression expenditures boosted from 11 million drachmas in 1970 to 4 billion drachmas in 1990 (a ratio of 1:400).

This could be explained by a close look to the fire causes: Only 3% of the total number of fires which occur in Greece are due to natural causes, 29% of the fires are documented due to arson, 30% are caused by negligence, while 38% are attributed to unknown causes. Considering that a great proportion of the “unknown” fires can be attributed to arson, it is safe to assume that over half the total number of fires that occur in Greece are due to arsonists. Most of the large fires are identified as arsons (in Greece, only 5% of the total number of fires are responsible for the 70% of the total area burned). Since Greece lacks nationwide land ownership and utilization maps, many of the burned forest lands are subsequently misappropriated and occupied by the arsonists and converted to agricultural or grazing land or used for housing construction development. It is characteristic that most cases of arson occur in coastal forests at areas of high population density, increased land value, and touristically popular during the summer. Revenge, political unrest, and pasture improvement are also causes of arson in Greece. Due to the nature of the arsonists motives, strict legislation and a series of socio-economic measures (including the creation of land utilization and ownership maps nationwide) could be most efficient in drastically eliminating the forest fire problem in Greece.

 

 

From: Alexander P. Dimitrakopoulos
Address:
Department of Environmental Sciences
University of the Aegean
Mytilini, Greece

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Greece: The 1996 Forest Fire Season (IFFN No. 16 – January 1997)

 

The 1996 Forest Fire Season

(IFFN No. 16 – January 1997, p. 9-11)

The fire season of 1996 was the second consecutive year for Greece with better-than-average results with regard to forest fire protection. At the end of October, with the fire season practically over due to heavy rains, a total of 1757 forest fires had been reported. These fires burned a total of 22,901 hectares resulting in an average burned area of 13.03 hectares per fire, the lowest since 1962. These results are very positive when compared with the forest fire statistics for the last 15 years (Fig.1 and 2), and they are the result of significant improvements in the effectiveness of the country’s firefighting mechanism. However, the total number of forest fires (Fig.3) is one of the highest on record indicating that there is a strong need for additional efforts in the field of forest fire prevention.

In 1996 there were no huge fires like the disastrous fire on Penteli mountain near Athens in 1995. However, the beginning of the summer season was marked by the occurrence of an extraordinarily large number of fires around Athens, eighteen of them at the extensive urban-wildland interface zone at the base of Penteli mountain. Effective initial attack controlled all these fires at very small sizes. However, the large number of fires led to the decision to invite two fire investigation specialists from the United States, who had recently retired from the U.S. Forest Service and voluntarily offered their services. These two specialists had participated in the three-member team of U.S. Forest Service specialists who had offered a one-week forest fire investigation course to 25 Greek foresters in 1995. They arrived in Greece at the beginning of August just before the peak of the fire season. Their arrival was heavily publicized and they immediately started examining the series of fires around Penteli, determining that arson was the probable cause of most of them. Interestingly, no additional fires erupted for the rest of the fire season. Later, and until the middle of September, the investigations continued in other parts of the country where an unusually high number of fires had been recorded. A voluminous report with findings, observations and suggestions was prepared by the investigators before leaving the country.

A second action that aimed at putting a brake to the unusually high number of fires was the preparation of a large fire prevention campaign that aimed at educating and sensitizing the public. This campaign consisted of television and radio spots, full-page ads in newspapers and preparation of informative leaflets that were distributed from toll-booths on national roads on days (usually weekends) of high fire danger.

Third, an educational two-volume video tape was produced based on the lectures of the 1995 fire investigation course that was mentioned above. The lectures had been videotaped at that time and after appropriate processing and subtitling two video tapes were prepared as educational material that was distributed to the Local Forest Service offices throughout the country to help improve the skills of their personnel on this particular task.

In addition to fine-tuning the whole organization, two new elements that were added to the forest firefighting system helped improve its efficiency, although the ground and aerial firefighting means remained at the same level as in the previous two years. These elements were:

    • For the first time a fire danger prediction map was issued on a daily basis throughout the fire season and was immediately communicated to the appropriate offices for planning and alertness purposes. Two versions of the map were produced: a detailed, technical map for the firefighting organization, and a simpler general map that was publicized through the mass media to alert the public. Each day’s map was valid for the next 24 hour period.
    • New specialized orthophoto maps were produced for Attica, which is the most sensitive area in regard to forest fires. These maps, covered Attica at two different scales (1:40.000 and 1:10.000) and in addition to showing contours and vegetation cover they included large amounts of information that is extremely useful to forest firefighting such as location of water hydrants, gas stations, bus routes, usual location of fire trucks etc. Their use was supported by a specially prepared computer program that allows easy location on the map of any new detected fire that is reported by an area’s local name.

Finally, in September 1996 there was one forest fire related death, that of an old shepherd at the area of Loutraki near Corinth. He tried to save his flock from the approaching fire front. His wife was also seriously injured in the accident.

 

Fig.1. Total burned area per year in Greece in the period1980-1996.
(will be added later)

 

Fig.2. Mean burned area per fire in Greece in the period1980-1996.
(will be added later)

 

Fig.3. Number of forest fires in Greece in the period 1980-1996.
(will be added later)

 

 

From: Dr. Gavriil Xanthopoulos
Forester – Forest Fire Specialist
Address:
Ministry of Agriculture
General Secretariat for Forests
and Natural Environment
3-5 Ippokratous str.
GR – Athens, 10164

Top
Country Notes

 

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Greece: The 1998 Fire Season (IFFN No. 20 – March 1999)

The 1998 Fire Season

(IFFN No. 20 – March 1999,p. 57)

The summer of 1998 was for Greece a season of average forest fires. We had experienced high precipitation during Spring. The result was an increasing growth of herbs. In most regions of the country there was no rain at all between end of May and end of August. Moreover, in the middle of Summer we had three to four times scorching hot weather exceeding 38° C. So the plants were dried up. Furthermore, during the first fifteen days of August the wind was blowing extremely hard, usually between 5 to 6 Beaufort.

As a result of these weather conditions we had an increasing occurrence of wildland fires. Between 1 June and 31 August 1998 we had a total of 8748 fires which burned a total area of about 95,571 ha. The average fire size was ca. 11 ha.

From the above burned area about 78,192 ha are wildlands while the rest are agricultural and urban areas etc.

Concerning the destruction of forests and other wildlands by fire we consider the year 1998 to be an average year. We have to take into account that in a year with favourable wether conditions Greece experiences a low number of wildland fires with an average burned area of somehow more than 20,000 ha. In years with bad weather conditions the burned area is approaching 150,000 ha.

This Summer in Greece for the first time the responsibility of wildland fire fighting was with the Fire Service. During the previous years the fire fighting was duty of Forest Service. The former firefighting personnel of the Forest Service was transferred with the proper equipment to the Fire Service.

 

Dionyssios Vorissis
Fire Captain-Forester Ministry of Public Order, Fire Service of Greece
Fire Corps Headquarters, Department X Fire Fighting and Rescue
Mourouzi 4
GR – 10172 Athens
GREECE Fax: ++30-1-7253026
Tel: ++30-1-7290452

IFFN No. 20
Country Notes

 

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The 1998 Forest Fire Season in Greece: A forest fire expert’s account (IFFN No. 20 – March 1999)

 

The 1998 Forest Fire Season in Greece:
A Forest Fire Expert’s Account

(IFFN No. 20 – March 1999,p. 57-60)

The 1998 forest fire season in Greece has been far from usual and certainly most controversial. What made it so different was a decision by the Greek government to transfer the responsibility of forest firefighting from the Forest Service to the Fire Service. The decision was taken at the end of 1997 and it was mainly a political one. It was prompted by what was considered poor results of the Forest Service in the previous years and did not really consider in depth all the parameters of the undertaking. Actually, it lacked any serious scientific justification or planning.

During winter and spring of 1998 there were many voices that warned about an oncoming disaster. They included a number of politicians, the representatives of Forest Service personnel of all levels, the Department of Forestry and Natural Environment of the University of Thessaloniki, and the few forest fire experts in the country who had not been given any opportunity to offer their input.

The law about the transfer of responsibility to the Fire Service finally took effect on 25 May 1998. That left very little time to the Fire Service to seriously prepare itself for the challenge. At the same time, it had become evident that no provision had been made for cooperation between the personnel of the Forest and the Fire Services at all levels. The Fire Service officers, who had been contributing in the past to forest firefighting, mainly close to urban areas and most often from paved roads, never having command on forest fire incidents, believed they knew all they needed. The significant difference between wildfires and the other types of fires they had been trained for (industrial, structural and ship fires etc.) was not obvious to them.

June was relatively moist and hence quiet, with no significant fires, facilitating the transfer of the Forest Service fire trucks and other equipment to the Fire Service. It also provided the necessary time for the Fire Service to hire seasonal firefighters in addition to its permanent personnel. Many lower rank employees of the Forest Service, mainly firefighters, reaching approximately 20% of all its personnel, were also transferred to the Fire Service.

The problems started on 4 July, early in the afternoon, with the passage of a dry cold front that was accompanied by very strong winds (7 Beaufort scale) and the typical in such cases wind shift. The front followed four days of lull, low humidity and extremely high temperatures which had reached 44 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country including Athens. To the surprise of the Fire Service, which did not have a fire danger prediction capability in place, more than 100 fires erupted within an hour in various parts of the country. About 20% of these fires started from burning garbage dumps, most of them illegal, close to forest lands. The wind picked up burning embers which found easily ignitable fuels where they landed. Simultaneously fires that had been burning slowly for days took off. Attica, the area around Athens, was hit the worst. All Fire Service units in Attica practically got engaged in forest firefighting and did the best they could. Unfortunately, the extreme conditions on one hand and the inadequate preparation of the Fire Service (e.g. lack of significant forest firefighting training and experience, lack of knowledge of the forest road network and fuels distribution, poor understanding of the correct use of aerial firefighting means, lack of well trained and equipped crews with hand tools), resulted in a large number of fires escaping initial attack, becoming large, and in many cases reaching urban-wildland interface areas.

The wind lasted at its peak for only a few hours, so by the end of the next day all fires were controlled. However, the problems had already become evident. By that time more than 10,000 ha had burned. Two civilians had been caught by the fires at different locations and perished and a third one died due to respiratory problems. Approximately 50 houses were destroyed in six different areas. One fire truck was destroyed but the crew, fortunately, managed to escape.

What followed was a preview of the rest of the fire season. Fire Service officers quickly established a belief that all fires were part of a plan against them and against the new law. Forestry people, on the other hand, insisted publicly that the Fire Service was clearly inadequate. The mass media presented and often over-emphasized this disagreement. Relations became very tense and good cooperation between Forest and Fire Service personnel was rarely the case. Even at that moment no corrective measures were taken.

A fifteen day period with average fire activity followed. Many fires erupted and were contained at relatively small sizes but few of them exceeded 2000 ha in size. One more fire truck was destroyed and at least two firefighters suffered injuries. During this time, it became evident that too much firefighting was carried out using the 15 Canadair CL-215 waterbombers of the country, and too many controlled fires were not moped-up and guarded properly so they started again with the onset of winds or as humidity decreased in the middle of the day. This latter phenomenon increased the belief of the Fire Service that arsonists “were starting again the fires they had just put out”. This statement could, of course, not be disputed with any proof, but it could not be supported either, as there was no experience on forest fire investigation in the Fire Service.

Then, as is common in the summer in Greece, the first serious “meltemi” type winds (seasonal 7-8 Beaufort scale northeastern winds that last for 3-4 days) came. Arriving on 22 July 1998, they caused a new round of large wildfires. This time the destruction was much larger as the winds persisted for many days and they were combined with low relative humidity. One of these fires, that erupted among houses on 22 July on mount Ymettos next to Athens, destroyed a number of houses, burned a few private cars and tragically killed three firefighters and one volunteer firefighter. Their fire truck, which they had abandoned, remained practically intact at a short distance from the point where their bodies were found. It was full of water and it is quite clear that if they had stayed in the truck they would have survived. The results of the Fire Service investigation on the incident have not been publicly announced.

In the first days of August the situation became even worse, mainly in central and southern Greece, with many fires becoming large and burning for many days. Ilia, a prefecture in western Peloponnese where ancient Olympia is, was hit the worst. Most of the forests there burned, reaching a total of more than 20,000 ha within that prefecture. Fortunately, ancient Olympia and its surrounding forest was saved. Another long lasting fire burned most of the Pinus nigra forest on mount Taygetos near Sparta in Peloponnese, an area of great ecological importance. Close to that, in Messinia, another large fire claimed two more citizen lives on 5 August, while a less intense but hard-to-fight fire on the steep slopes of mount Olympos in Macedonia kept burning for more than 18 days. However, most attention was caught by a disastrous fire at the outskirts of Athens. The fire started at 22:00 on 2 August at the village of Stamata northeast of Athens under calm conditions. It was not attacked effectively through the night, so next morning, when winds picked up, it accelerated, crowned in Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) forest and started spotting. It continued for four days, burning more than 7500 ha, causing unbelievable disaster and practically entering some suburbs of Athens. This fire destroyed the forest that had remained on the mountain of Penteli after the 6200 ha fire there in 1995, and reburned most of the previously burned area diminishing the probability for natural regeneration of Aleppo pine there due to lack of seed. Hundreds of houses and other buildings (hospitals, restaurants, factories, a school, etc.) were destroyed or suffered significant damage. A 67-year old man who lived in the village of Penteli at the base of Penteli mountain was caught by the fire and died as he was fleeing his home.

The inadequacy of the firefighting forces to cope with the blazes became so evident by 5 August 1998 that the government requested international help. Initial help in the form of Canadair CL-415 waterbombers came from Italy and France during the crisis and stayed in Greece for a few days. Four German military helicopters (CH-53) arrived later as well as a Russian Ilyushin jet plane that can deliver 40 tons of water per flight. Furthermore, four Canadair CL-215 planes were rented from Canada. The government also took special prevention measures such as forbidding visits to the forests in the fire stricken areas and organizing army-supported patrols in sensitive areas.

After 10 August 1998 weather conditions started changing. Air relative humidity gradually increased, winds generally subsided and some rain fell in various parts of the country. Fire activity decreased and only few fires became relatively large after that.

Official fire statistics, in contrast to previous years, had not been available through the fire season. By the end of August estimates from foresters brought the total burned area to approximately 120,000 or even 150,000 ha. At the end of fall, the Fire Service announced that a total of 95,571 ha had burned. Only 78,192 ha were wildlands while the rest was mainly rural and urban-wildland interface areas. These figures were questioned by forestry people. The data presented in Figure 1 show the total burned area per year in Greece for the 1980-1998 period; the 1998 figures of the total burned area are based on the (non-final) Fire Service estimates.

The number of fires, according to the Fire Service, reached 8748 in 1998, bringing the mean burned area per fire to approximately 11 ha. However, the fire recording system of the Fire Service is not compatible with the previously used one. As a result the number of recorded fires is more than double of the figure for any previous year as illustrated in Figure 2.

In conclusion, the mistakes made before and during the fire season resulted in a clearly foreseeable disaster. These mistakes should not be repeated. It is very important for the country to take advantage of the remaining time before the next fire season and to organize the best possible system for forest fire protection. Such a system should:

  1. Recognize the need for well planned overall fire management, and not only the need for effective fire suppression.

  2. Give an emphasis on fire prevention.

  3. Incorporate within a well planned and organized framework all existing forces, avoiding turf battles.

  4. Take advantage of all the expertise and technology available in the country in order to make the system and the available forces work in the best possible way.

 

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Fig.1. Total area burned per year in Greece in the period 1980-1998

 

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Fig.2. Number of forest fires in Greece in the period 1980-1998

 

Gavriil Xanthopoulos
Forester – Forest Fire Specialist Natural Resource Technologies Consulting
31 Mouson str.
Athens 17562
GREECE Fax: ++30-1-9816221
e-mail: gxnrtc@acropolis.net

IFFN No. 20
Country Notes

 

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Greece: The 1999 Forest Fire Season (IFFN No. 22 – April 2000)

The 1999 Forest Fire Season

(IFFN No. 22 – April 2000, p. 25-28)

The 1999 forest fire season in Greece has been a very good one. The total burned area fell to the lowest level since 1976, in sharp contrast to the 1998 fire season that had been one of the worst on record (Fig.1). This success, which has been reason for celebration for the Greek Fire Service (GFS), was the result of serious preparation work in combination with a relatively mild summer season in regard to fire danger.

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Fig.1. Total annually burned area in Greece in the period 1970-1999

As reported last year, the GFS had been given full responsibility for forest fire fighting in May 1998, just before the beginning of the fire season. Having no time to prepare, it proved inadequate for this new duty. Many fires became very large bringing the total burned area to 95571 ha, fuelling a serious controversy between the GFS and Forest Service officers who were upset for losing the responsibility for forest fire fighting.

After the end of the 1998 fire season the GFS, being fully supported by the government, started preparing immediately for the summer of 1999. For this purpose it mobilized all of its people, recognized its weaknesses and tried to cure them before the beginning of the next fire season (June). The most important improvements were:

Personnel

  • The permanent personnel of the GFS increased by 1300, bringing the total up to 8000 fire fighters and officers. This is a 19.4% increase.

  • 4000 seasonal fire fighters were hired in time for the fire season. This number is lower by 25% compared to previous years.

  • Every effort was made to bring the morale of personnel up.

  • Recognizing the need for well trained personnel, the GFS organized a series of week-long seminars to train its officers in aspects of forest fire fighting on which their knowledge was inadequate. Subjects included introduction to fire behaviour and fire danger concepts, fire meteorology, forest fire fighting methods and techniques, and safety considerations. The seminars were taught by Greek specialists including the author. Furthermore, two seminars taught by Canadian training officers, focused on aerial fire fighting and fire fighting using ground crews (handcrews).

Aerial fire fighting means

  • Ten new amphibian CANADAIR CL-415 water bombers were ordered from BOMBARDIER in Canada. The first two were delivered in Greece before the start of the 1999 fire season.

  • Four heavy-lift helicopters were contracted from the international market for fire fighting. They were one Ericsson Air-Crane, two MI-26, and one Kamov. All of them performed very effectively. The MI-26, being able to carry 2 fire trucks plus personnel in its hull, proved indispensable for the protection of the hundreds of islands in the Aegean sea.

  • Two amphibian CANADAIR CL-215 water bombers and an Illyushin (IL 76 TD) airplane that can deliver up to 42 tons of water per drop were also contracted, to complement the 15 CANADAIR CL-215 operated by the Greek Air Force.

  • The use of Greek Army CHINOOK CH-47D and UH-1H “Huey” helicopters that had been extensive in previous years was limited in 1999.

  • The existing 18 PZL Dromader and six smaller Grumman agricultural aircraft operated by the Greek Air Force were used as usual, both for aerial patrol and initial attack.

Ground fire fighting forces

  • The total of the fire fighting trucks of the GFS (all types and ages) reached 1100, including 15 new units.

  • The fire fighting telecommunications network was improved significantly.

  • Many important needed tools, such as backpack pumps, appropriate hoses, etc. were acquired.

  • The number of handcrews increased and they were better organized. Most important the significance of their contribution was recognized so they were used more effectively.

Planning and organization

  • Starting in fall of 1998, all GFS units had to develop detailed pre-suppression plans for their jurisdiction. These plans were based on five fire danger/alertness levels provided by a fire danger prediction map for the country that was issued daily throughout the fire season. The author was responsible for preparing the map. The plans included such elements as planning for aerial and ground patrols, alerting local authorities on high fire danger days, forbidding access to specific forest areas under critical conditions, etc.

  • A general plan was prepared at the national level.

  • The principle of effective initial attack was applied both locally and at the dispatching center in Athens. The dispatchers were encouraged to send more resources than the minimum needed. Cost was a second priority.

Fire prevention

  • A very intensive prevention campaign, based on TV and radio spots, was launched at the beginning of the fire season. It continued until the end of August.

  • The roads to sensitive forest areas, according to plans, were closed on critical days with the help of the Police and local authorities.

  • The GFS cooperated with the police in order to track-down suspected arsonists.

Results

From the onset of the fire season it became evident that the whole organization worked more effectively than the year before. All fires and especially those close to Athens were attacked massively both from the air and from the ground. The aerial resources, especially the heavy lift helicopters, the new CL-415s and the contracted CL-215s performed exceptionally well and made the difference in terms of effective initial attack. Avoidance of delays in their dispatching and simultaneous concentration of large numbers of ground forces on each new fire minimized the chances of escaped fires. This approach was helped greatly by the relatively favourable weather conditions.

The climate in Greece is typically Mediterranean over most of the country. Most areas in the south part of the country, including Attica (the area around Athens), usually receive no rain in the summer months. This year was an exception with significant rain events interrupting the build-up of fire danger both in July and in August. On one occasion there was even flooding in Athens. Furthermore, air relative humidity remained at higher than usual levels on most days. As a result, fire potential was less than usual and, with effective initial attack, no fires reached 500 ha in size.

In spite of the successful results, the fire season was, unfortunately, marked by some tragic moments. On 28 July 1999, at night, three experienced fire fighters from an eleven-person handcrew were trapped by the flames on the island of Chios. The fire was burning in light fuels and there was a sudden wind change. Two of the fire fighters, who worked as seasonals for the GFS, lost their life. One of them, a 27 year-old girl who was an assistant-forester, died on the spot, while the second, a 31 year-old man suffered extensive burns (>60% of his body) and died a week later in the hospital. The third fire fighter trapped by the flames, a GFS officer, escaped with intense burns over 40% of his body, and managed to survive after a long treatment in the hospital.

Also, in September, one civilian driver of a water-truck belonging to the Town of Poros in Peloponnese, got killed when his truck fell-off a forest road. He had just refilled Fire Service fire trucks that were fighting a small wildfire and was returning to his base.

Another negative moment for the 1999 fire season was the destruction of a small number of houses on the island of Salamis, close to Athens, by two wildfires on different dates. Most of these houses were illegally built, close or within an Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) forest. They were of poor construction, built with flammable materials and had no safety measures in case of fire (poor road access, in contact with vegetation, no water tanks etc.). The fires occurred early in the afternoon with medium strength winds (4-5 Beaufort) but under very low air relative humidity (<20%) and accelerated very rapidly. Although very strong fire fighting forces were dispatched at once and controlled the fires in a few hours, many houses on the path of the fire front were destroyed or damaged within the first hour.

The latest count, covering the period 1 January to 30 September 1999, provided the following fire statistics:

It should be noted that the number of fires reported by the GFS includes all fires to which GFS has been called and is not comparable with the number reported by the Forest Service until 1997. The latter generally reported less than 3000 fires per year.

The future

The success of the 1999 fire season brought great relief to all those who care about the Greek forests. The results proved that the GFS has been working hard in the right direction rapidly improving its ability to control forest fires. However, it should be noted that there is still a lot of work to be done and there are still significant questions to be answered and problems to be solved:

  • In terms of the GFS, two elements that have not been tested in 1999 are its ability to control large fires, as there were not any, and the effectiveness of the massive initial attack strategy under more difficult fire danger conditions.

  • The cost of fire fighting has increased sharply in the last two years, especially due to the use of contracted aerial means.

  • The dispute with the Forest Service has not been resolved and cooperation between the two organizations is not smooth.

  • Fire prevention, especially through forest management, cannot be carried out effectively by the Forest Service which has been weakened significantly in the last two years. The same holds true about grazing on forest lands, where, without a serious grazing management program, the problem of “range improvement” fires set by shepherds will continue to exist. Without such management, the forest fire problem will never be rationally controlled and fire fighting costs will continue to rise.

The GFS and the government gradually recognize these problems and there is optimism that in the future the necessary measures will be taken to solve them. In the meantime, preparations for the next fire season are well in progress.

Gavriil Xanthopoulos
Forester – Forest Fire Specialist
Advisor to the Minister of Public Order
Natural Resource Technologies Consulting
31 Mouson str.
GR – Athens, 17562
GREECE

Fax: ++30-1-9816221
e-mail: gxnrtc@acropolis.net

Country Notes
IFFN No. 22

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