Greece has called on the European Forest Fire Mechanism to help tackle new wildfire outbreaks reported on Tuesday across the country, which has been hit by drought and strong winds, according to the fire service.
The most dangerous of the new fire fronts are on the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea (west), in Vonitsa and Preveza, towns in western mainland Greece, and in the department of Achaea in the western Peloponnese, where around 20 preventive evacuations have been carried out, according to the same source.
"In total, more than a hundred fires have broken out across the country and to deal with them, Greece has called on the European mechanism to provide four additional water bomber aircraft," Vassilis Vathrakoyannis, spokesman for the Greek fire brigade, said at a brief press briefing on Tuesday afternoon.
Due to the many fires, especially in western Greece, a police investigation has been launched, he added.
The Athens Observatory warned that "the conditions of intense atmospheric drought (...) are creating a very favourable environment for fires," while temperatures remained at normal levels for the season, at a maximum of 35°C.
The alert level in the Peloponnese (south), Attica (Athens department) and western Greece has been raised from red (very high fire risk) to ‘extreme risk’, according to the website.
The rest of the country is on red and orange alert.
Since last week, Greece has been hit by strong winds of over 80 km/hr and fires that killed three people on Friday, including two Vietnamese tourists.
