New Greece wildfires continue to spark with no end of prolonged drought in sight

Name: Greek firefighters work to contain dozens of wildfires
Uploaded: 2025-08-12T16:15:34-04:00
Duration: 1 min 6 s
Description: Video shows firefighters battling wildfires in Greece’s East Attica region on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025. More than 100 fires continue to burn across the islands.

Greek firefighters work to contain dozens of wildfires

Video shows firefighters battling wildfires in Greece’s East Attica region on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025. More than 100 fires continue to burn across the islands.

Dozens of new wildfires began Tuesday in Greece, prompting evacuations, with more than 100 fires burning.

According to the Greek Fire Department Operations Center, firefighters are battling 106 fires in Greece, with 63 new starts reported Tuesday. Most of the fires are in Kefalonia, Vonitsa, Zakynthos, Arta, Preveza, Achaia, Chios and Aitoliko.

Flames and smoke rise from burning trees while firefighters continue their efforts to extinguish the fire that broke out in the forest area near the Komotini, Greece on August 10, 2025. ( Ayhan Mehmet/Anadolu / Getty Images)

The fires are "growing in size and becoming dangerous" and are being fueled by gusty winds and prolonged drought, Greek fire officials said.

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Due to the large number of fires, teams from the Greek Arson Crimes Division have been dispatched to investigate the cause.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Climate Crisis & Civil Protection issued more than a dozen evacuation orders for communities in western Greece. Over the weekend, one person was killed in Togani Keratea when a building burned down, according to officials.

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A very high fire risk continues Wednesday in Attica, Peloponnese, Western Greece, Epirus, Thessaly, Central Greece, Ionian Islands, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Central Macedonia and the North Aegean.

According to the Ministry of Climate Crisis & Civil Protection, a Level 4 out of 5 fire risk is forecast for these regions.

Locals are carrying out a cooling operation against the forest fire with hoses as firefighters continue their efforts to extinguish the fire that broke out in the forest area near the Komotini, Greece on August 10, 2025. The Kalkanca neighborhood, located approximately 3 kilometers from the city of Komotini in Western Thrace, where a densely Turkish population lives, was evacuated due to a fire that broke out in a forest this morning. Fire crews, with the support of land and air vehicles, are working intensively to prevent the flames from reaching residential areas. (Ayhan Mehmet/Anadolu)

People attempt to battle a raging wildfire as flames and embers light up the night sky near the town of Keratea, southeast of Athens, Greece on August 08, 2025. The fire remains out of control mostly due to strong winds, despite the best efforts of firefighting teams, supported by numerous aerial vehicles and volunteers. (Costas Baltas/Anadolu )

Greece is among the European nations facing drought conditions this summer.

According to a report from the European Commission Joint Research Centre in June, drought is escalating throughout central, northern and eastern Europe. These conditions were triggered by a lack of rain throughout the spring and above-average temperatures in several regions. The ongoing drought contributed to France's largest wildfire in 70 years.

Information for this story was obtained using Google Translate.