Greek authorities sent 100 extra firefighters Thursday to the country’s northeast where a massive blaze in its 13th day flared up again, prompting authorities to put residents on standby for a possible evacuation.
SIA reports with reference to foreign media that, the fire that started August 19, part of a busy fire season for Greece, has destroyed vast tracts of forest and burnt homes. It also has been blamed for the deaths of 20 migrants whose bodies were found last week in the area, which is near the border with Turkey.
Allegations that migrants may have been responsible for the fire have led to some vigilantism against foreigners, though people arrested in recent days suspected of starting blazes around the country have all been Greek.
The reinforcements sent Thursday to the Alexandroupolis and Evros region brought the total number of firefighters deployed there to 582, backed by 10 planes and seven helicopters from nine European countries, Greece’s fire department said.
A total of 26 people, including the two-member crew of a firefighting plane, have died as a result of wildfires in Greece so far this year. Lawmakers held a minute of silence at the start of a parliamentary debate Thursday morning on the fires and the state response.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis defended his government's response to the fires, and said climate change and a protracted heat wave followed by very strong winds were largely to blame for them.
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