The fire disaster in Meriç reaches terrible proportions: 935 thousand acres burn down

In the Evros region, where the fires cannot be extinguished, the fire brigades continue to fight effectively from the ground and air, concentrating on the active fronts west of Sofulu and in the Dadia area.

According to the latest satellite data from the European Commission's Copernicus Rapid Mapping Service, the total area burnt by the Evros forest fire, which was caused by the merger of the fires in Alexandroupoli and Dadia, exceeded 935,000 acres.

Of the total burnt area of 935,000 acres:

440,180 (47 per cent) acres are forests,
318,700 (34%) acres of scrubland,
81,140 (9%) acres are agricultural land.

24 new fires in the last 49 hours
Fire brigades fought a total of 82 fires across the country, while in the last 24 hours there were 49 new forest fires, most of which were brought under control in their initial stages.

Assistance in fighting the fires is provided by forces from France, Spain, Cyprus, Romania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovakia through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, as well as from Albania and Serbia through intergovernmental agreements.

Assistance is also provided by a large number of volunteer firefighters, forces provided by the General Staff of National Defence and the Hellenic Police, as well as water tankers and construction equipment of the State Regions.

Units of the Directorate for Arson Offences (D.A.E.E.) as well as the local investigation offices of the Police are investigating the causes of the fires.

The personnel of the district fire brigade remain on high alert.

Finally, the fire brigade calls on all citizens to be particularly vigilant and to strictly follow the instructions of the competent authorities in the event of a fire, for their own safety.