At least in France and Spain, the situation eased – also on the hard-hit holiday island of Tenerife. The situation in Greece is different: the fires that are raging in Greece have already destroyed more than 6,600 hectares of forest and land. This was the result of calculations and maps by forest and forest fire experts, as reported by the Greek news agency ANA on Monday. According to this, the forest fire in the southern part of the island of Lesvos, which was still not under control on Monday, has already destroyed around 1,700 hectares. The fire, which raged further northeast in Dadia National Park, is said to have destroyed more than 2,500 hectares so far. The fire in northern Athens last week, which has since been extinguished, reduced around 2,400 hectares to rubble.
For Tuesday, the fire brigade again spoke of a “very high risk of forest fires” for Athens and the surrounding area as well as the island of Euboea and the islands of the eastern Aegean. In large parts of the country there is also a “high risk of forest fires”.
The forest fire on the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife, which is popular with holidaymakers, has decreased in intensity. The fire is losing strength and there is hope that the flames could be brought under control shortly, the Spanish newspaper “El Día” quoted island president Pedro Martín on Monday.
According to official information on Sunday, the flames have already destroyed more than 2,150 hectares. 585 residents of La Guancha and four other communities had been brought to safety. Numerous foreign hiking tourists were warned of the flames at the nearby Teide National Park. Around 150 firefighters were deployed. Higher humidity and less wind made their work easier. The many other forest fires in Spain in recent weeks have meanwhile been extinguished or largely brought under control.
There was also a partial all-clear for the fires on France’s Atlantic coast. The situation has calmed down south of Bordeaux. The forest fire near Landiras is completely under control, said the responsible prefecture for the Gironde on Monday morning. However, not all fires have been extinguished. The emergency services also got the second major forest fire in the area, near La Teste-de-Buch, under control.
Video: A major fire has also been raging in the USA near Yosemite National Park since Friday.
While the situation is calming down in parts of southern Europe, efforts to extinguish a forest fire in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park in the Czech Republic continue. Around 30 fire brigade units with almost 50 vehicles were on site on Monday to fight the flames, according to a spokesman for the emergency services. In addition, a police and an army helicopter were used.
The forest fire broke out on Sunday morning in an area of around seven hectares not far from the Prebischtor, a rock formation popular with tourists. After the fire was initially brought under control, a second source of fire was later discovered.
Source: Nachrichten
