Wildfire in Corinthia rages for third day, optimism grows as winds ease

The deadly wildfire in Corinthia in the Peloponnese continued to rage for a third consecutive day on Tuesday.

Fire crews intensified their efforts as the blaze had split into several separate fronts across Evrostina, Xanthochori, Sofiana, Koumaria-Rozena, Chelidoreo and Ano Pitsa.

The flames were consuming forested areas in difficult-to-access terrain. However, by late Tuesday, winds had decreased to 2-3 on the Beaufort scale, providing some relief, according to the fire service.

A total of 490 firefighters, 16 ground teams and 159 vehicles were involved, along with volunteers, local authorities and heavy machinery. Aerial support included 31 aircraft—17 helicopters and 14 planes. Two waterbombing aircraft from Italy joined the firefighting effort late Tuesday after Greece requested help through the EU’s emergency civil protection mechanism. A third plane from Croatia was also expected.

The fire has so far cost the lives of two local residents, who died after being trapped by the fast-moving blaze on Sunday amid high winds.

Greece’s minister for climate change and civil protection, Vassilis Kikilias, said so far up to 5,000 hectares (12,300 acres) had been affected by the blaze.

“The situation is very difficult,” he told a press conference on Tuesday. “We didn’t expect that at this time of year … there would be so many wildfires and that they would be so difficult to handle.”

In the past 24 hours, 41 new fires broke out across Greece, with 37 extinguished quickly. Firefighters are still battling four.

Greece faces destructive wildfires each summer, worsened by global warming. This season has been flagged as the most dangerous in two decades due to drought and early heatwaves.

Source:Kathimerini/AP