"It's a difficult fight, a fight to ensure the survival of this exceptional ecosystem" of Dadia, one of the most important national parks in the country, said Monday Minister Christos Stylianidis who had visited the weekend on place to coordinate the fight against the fire.
Protected by the European Natura 2000 network and known for its colony of vultures and a rich fauna and flora, Dadia National Park includes three of four species of European vultures, including the Black Vulture which is the emblematic species of the region, according to experts.
On Monday, 320 firefighters, two water bombers and four helicopters continued their efforts to contain the fire in the Dadia forest, which started last Thursday and led to the evacuation of certain villages as a precaution and the transfer of residents to hotels. .
“After this difficult fight, the experts must examine the problems caused by this fire”, in particular “to reflect on the resistance of the ecosystem for the future”, underlined the minister in a press release.
Hit by very high temperatures which should reach 40 degrees Celsius on Monday in some regions according to the weather forecast, Greece is also battling two other major fires started over the weekend: one on the island of Lesbos, in the northeast of the Aegean Sea and in Krestena in the Peloponnese (south). In these two regions, residents and tourists also had to be evacuated as a precaution.
Civil Protection warned that the risk of forest fires remained "very high" on Monday due to the heat wave and strong winds.
Greece is plagued by violent forest fires every summer.
Last summer, the country was hit by scorching temperatures and violent forest fires, which ravaged 103,000 hectares and killed three people, the island of Euboea, near Athens, having been particularly affected.
