The planet, under the onslaught of fires

Devastating fires are wreaking havoc in all corners of the planet. Greece, USA, Russia are facing large-scale fires. Greece recorded 54 wildfires in a 24-hour period, with the intervention teams managing to bring 43 of them under control. Firefighting operations continued yesterday to bring 11 active fires under control, according to the Greek National Press Agency (AMNA). A major fire, which broke out on Monday afternoon in a wooded area in the vicinity of the village of Petres in the municipality of Kymi-Aliveri, on the island of Evia, has become the main point of interest for firefighters. The fire grew rapidly in intensity, exacerbated by the strong wind blowing from the north. To put out the flames, 189 firefighters, nine ground teams and 56 special vehicles were mobilized, together with numerous volunteers, helped by 26 air units, including 16 airplanes and 10 helicopters. Greek Fire Brigade spokesman Vasilis Vathrakogiannis said local municipality water tankers and construction equipment were also supporting the operation. A fire-fighting vessel was sent to the scene and the Coast Guard mobilized boats near the coastline. The police forces are helping to evacuate the locals. A firefighter fighting the fire in Evia suffered minor burns and was transported to the Aliveri Health Center to receive medical care, according to AMNA.

The devastating forest and vegetation fires in Siberia have spread over an area of over 1 million hectares in the Republic of Sakha, also known as Yakutia, the authorities announced. More than 130 individual fires are currently active in the region, with approximately 2,000 people involved in efforts to extinguish the flames, both from the ground and from the air, the Ministry of Civil Defense reported in the regional capital, Yakutsk. The ministry also released a video of a firefighting plane dumping tons of water on burning forests. According to the report of the Ministry of Civil Defense, 52 localities are affected by the smoke emanating from the fires. Samples were taken from the air and it was found that in two cities and two villages the limits were exceeded, the report states. Due to the forest fires, a state of emergency has been established in the region of northeastern Russia for several weeks. Fires are also wreaking havoc in many other regions of the world's largest country by area.

Extensive forest and vegetation fires in the Arctic region have emitted a significant amount of smoke over the past few weeks, affecting several localities. Russia struggles every year with wildfires, which destroy large areas of forest and steppe. The Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) of the European Union attributes the extensive fires in the constituent republic of the Russian Federation to significantly higher temperatures and a lower level of precipitation compared to normal values in the region.

On the other side of the world, firefighters continued to fight the mega-fire that devastated northern California on Sunday, in increasingly favorable conditions for its advancement, with strong winds and rising temperatures, according to the authorities, reports AFP. The Park Fire, which broke out near the city of Chico, destroyed an estimated 144,500 hectares, said Billy See of the state agency Cal Fire, making it the seventh most destructive fire in California history.

The fire has so far caused the evacuation of 4,200 people from Butte County and affects a mountainous region about 145 kilometers from Sacramento, the capital of California. Firefighters have to intervene in rough terrain, while the intensity of the fire "is increasing", warned Mark Brunton, the head of rescue operations. Approximately 4,000 agents, aerial vehicles and bulldozers are mobilized against this fire which has not yet caused casualties, but has destroyed or damaged 67 buildings. The city of Chico is about 25 kilometers from Paradise, a city devastated in 2018 by the most violent fire recorded in California, with 85 deaths.