Fires on the Greek island of Lesbos and in Dadia national park remain out of control

Greek firefighters continue this Sunday the tasks to control the two large outbreaks declared on the island of Lesbos and in the large National Park of Dadia, which in recent hours have spread due to the strong winds that shake the area, as well as the high temperatures.

Faced with the advance of the flames, the authorities of the locality of Dadia have given evacuation orders this past night while firefighters continue to open firebreaks in the pine forest. Right now there are a total of 320 troops fighting to extinguish the flames, which are having a devastating effect on the park’s flora and fauna, particularly its population of birds of prey.

The south of the island of Lesbos also continues to burn, where the residents of the village of Vatera were evacuated on Saturday. There, houses and some vehicles have been burned. A second front is advancing towards the town of Vrissa and another one is approaching the village of Stavros, although the population is not yet in danger.

Greek Police have reported a total of approximately 450 evacuations in the last few hours, the latest according to public broadcaster ERT in Chryssokelaria, in the southwestern Peloponnese.

To these two fires must be added two other large outbreaks: the one registered in the mountainous area near the town of Grevená, in the region of Western Macedonia and another one near the northwestern town of Preveza, in the region of Epirus, although the latter seems to be under control, as reported by the Greek daily ‘Kathimerini’ in its digital edition.

Greek authorities have confirmed 141 new outbreaks in the last 24 hours, according to information from the Fire Department gathered by DPA.