The next few days are all expected to be very dangerous for the outbreak of wildfires that could very easily and quickly get out of control due to the extreme weather conditions.

According to information from the Civil Defense, strong northeast winds, drought, and high temperatures will bring areas that were not affected by recent rainfall to the orange, one step short of a red alert, resulting in high levels of drought. For this reason, the Fire Brigade and all Civil Protection forces will be on high alert to deal with any fire incidents immediately.

In particular, a very high fire risk is predicted tomorrow in Attica, Kythira, Boeotia, Evia, Evia, Argolida, areas of Fthiotida, Corinthia, and Laconia, while the risk will be high in a large part of the Greek islands and in several areas of the mainland.

Specifically, according to the Fire Risk Prediction Map issued by the General Secretariat of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection (civilprotection.gov.gr), a very high fire risk (risk category 4) is predicted for tomorrow for the following areas:

– Region of Attica (including the island of Kythera)

– Region of Central Greece (Boeotia, Evia, Fthiotida)

– Region of Peloponnese (PE Corinthia, PE Argolida, PE Laconia)

The General Secretariat of Civil Protection (civilprotection.gov.gr) of the Ministry of Climate Crisis & Civil Protection has informed the competent government departments involved, as well as the Regions and Municipalities of the above areas, to be on increased civil protection preparedness to deal immediately with any fire incidents.

At the same time, the GGP recommends that citizens should be particularly careful and avoid actions in the countryside that can cause a fire by negligence, such as burning dry grass and branches or cleaning debris, the use of spark-inducing machinery such as circular saws, welding devices, the use of outdoor barbecues, smoking bees, throwing lit cigarettes, etc. It is also reminded that during the fire season, burning of fields is prohibited.

In case of a fire, citizens are requested to immediately notify the Fire Service at call number 199.

For more information and instructions on how to protect themselves from the dangers of forest fires, citizens can visit the website of the General Secretariat for Civil Protection at civilprotection.gov.gr.