Wildfires rage through Greece

Fire services are struggling to deal with the wildfires in Greece (Photo: twitter: @CivPro_GR)

Wildfires are raging in Greece, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.

Flames have reached as high as 25 metres and on Monday were spreading towards the capital Athens. Many trying to escape in cars have been trapped by flames, while others have been hospitalised with burns or because the air is so thick with smoke.

Over 40 fires have broken out in Greece since last Saturday afternoon with the damage becoming more serious last Sunday.

The fire is now engulfing Mount Penteli, famous for its marble quarries and the adjoining Athens suburb where three hospitals, including a children’s hospital, have been evacuated.

In Varnavas, north of Athens and Marathon, houses and properties burn. Some 11 villages and towns have been evacuated and parts of the capital are already under a cloud of smoke.

The fire brigade worked throughout Sunday night “but despite superhuman efforts, the fire evolved rapidly” spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said in an emergency press briefing on Monday.

More than 600 firefighters and over 200 planes, trucks and vehicles have been deployed to help put out the fires. But strong winds between 39-46mph are spreading the fire, which in some places has formed a 12-mile front.

One resident from the village of Polydendri said “everything is burning”.

“I have 200 olive trees there but now they are gone,” said 48-year-old Giorgos Tsevas. “All the residents here have olive groves, or vines…All of them destroyed.”

Stergios Tsirkas, Mayor of the historic and now evacuated town Marathon, said it was a “biblical catastrophe”. “Our whole town is engulfed in flames and going through difficult times.”

June and July were the hottest on record in Greece and followed the warmest winter on record. This is yet another significant effect of climate change.

But the government has decimated public services that could’ve stopped the spread of the wildfires.

Workers Solidarity, the Greek sister newspaper of Socialist Worker, said in a statement, “Once again, a fire that could have been contained in time if there was real fire protection, prevention, cleaning, infrastructure and staffed services in the fire department—in the municipalities and the regions—got away.”

Residents and firefighters reported that there was a lack of water and piles of combustible material that the authorities hadn’t collected in time.

The Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias only “warned” of strong winds and risk of fire.

Seasonal forest firefighters, who are now fighting the flames, protested at the beginning of the firefighting season.

They told Workers Solidarity, “We are going through the hottest fire season in decades. In the first five months of 2024 we’ve had a 22 percent increase in fires in Greece compared to the same period last year.

“At the same time we feel huge disappointment from the political leadership because we find that according to Kikilia’s words this will be our last fire season. The administration requests that the fire engines be manned by three-member crews but the permanent staff number is not sufficient in numbers to make this possible.”

The statement also said that while “climate change increases the number and intensity of fires every year” for 20 years, authorities have done “nothing at all to deal with the new facts”.

“The New Democracy government implemented and continues to implement the destructive neoliberal policy that leaves the country unprotected from fires. It shrinks public authorities and services through continuous cuts in spending, downsizing of staff and through contracting.”

This has included abolishing forest firefighting by merging it with the fire department, which has left huge areas without basic protection.

It also left the fire department with 4,000 state agency unfilled positions and relying on seasonal firefighters.  

Ignoring the effects of climate change and slashing services that can fight increasing wildfires show the need for drastic system change to stop the planet burning.