Erratic winds stymie efforts to put out Greece wildfires

By Mehmet Hatipoglu

KOMOTINI, Greece (AA) - Greece has been battling wildfires that erupted in a wide range of forest and rural areas for the last 15 days.

Officials from the fire department said teams have been working for nine days to put out fires on the Aegean island of Euboea and the peninsula of Morea.

They said land and aerial operations are being used to put out fires in Attica's Parnitha, Mandra, and Aspropyrgos districts, Morea's Laconia and Arcadia provinces, and Halkidiki's Kassandra region.

However, the teams' efforts to combat fires are hampered by erratic winds, they added.

Firefighters from other countries, army infantry, police, city government vehicles, and volunteer citizens are all involved in the fight against the flames.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a news conference that the main reason for the disaster is climate change in the Mediterranean basin.

He urged the region's countries to work together closely on the issue.

Drawing attention to the eruption of wildfires in many Mediterranean countries, Mitsotakis said: "Climate change is here and it tells us to change everything. We need to make brave decisions."

"Nature does not make mistakes, humans do," he added.

He stated that the government is doing everything possible to put out the fires, but that efforts fall short at times.

Over 75,000 hectares of forestland have turned into ashes in the ongoing wildfires so far.

More than a thousand houses and workplaces have been destroyed, dozens of vehicles ruined, and the wildlife in the region dramatically affected due to the massive blazes.

*Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara