Firefighters battled the flames all night in the fire that broke out yesterday at noon in Pissonas Evia, between settlements of the Municipality of Dirfyon-Messapion.
According to the Fire Department, there is no active front on Thursday morning. However, there are still scattered outbreaks and flare-ups.
The aim is to bring the large fire under control before strong winds begin to blow through the area again, as is expected during the day, according to forecasters.
183 firefighters with 8 forestry teams and 52 vehicles as well as a large number of volunteers remain at the scene. In the meantime, aerial drops are expected to begin, and in particular, 4 helicopters and 9 aircraft are operating.
The ground firefighting forces have been strengthened and, now, there are 183 firefighters with 8 forest commando teams and 52 vehicles. At sunset, the 19 aerial vehicles (the two coordination ones) stopped the drops. Moldovan firefighters, who arrived in the area, are also participating in the effort to extinguish the fire. These are the firefighters who were again in Evia in the deadly fire in 2021.
According to the fire department, the situation is difficult due to the geomorphology of the ground and the strong winds. The fire broke out at noon in the Pissonas area. Wind gusts reach 7 bf, while very low moisture levels are constantly creating patches and new outbreaks further south of the fire.
That is why three messages were issued by 112, the first for information, the second for the removal of residents from the settlement of Afrati and the third was issued for the removal of the small settlements of Kamari, Kalyvia and Agios Georgios Armas in the direction of Chalkida.
From the first moment the fire broke out, very strong ground and air forces were working. At the moment, 145 firefighters with 7 forestry teams and 43 vehicles and a large number of volunteers are fighting the flames. 19 aerial vehicles, 11 aircraft and 6 helicopters have been allocated for aerial firefighting and 2 more helicopters for their coordination.
The local government and the Armed Forces are assisting with project machinery and water carriers. Greek Police forces have been deployed in the area to facilitate the movement of residents. All civil protection forces are coordinated by the OLYMPOS Mobile Operations Center.
Fire in Evia: Smoke reached 150 kilometers away from the front
meteo.gr has published an EUMETSAT satellite image, which shows the dispersion of the thick smoke, which in the late afternoon (19:00) of Wednesday, July 31, 2024, had moved over the Myrtle Sea, traveling a distance of more than 150 km.
The large spread of smoke is also shown in the following video, which covers the period from the start of the fire until the late afternoon (19:30) of Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
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