Hundreds of firefighters in Greece remain on alert even though the wildfires that have devastated the country in recent weeks are under control and largely extinguished. The fire danger in large parts of the country is still "high" to "very high," according to Greek Civil Defense. One of the concerns is strong winds, which can turn a small flame into a large forest fire, DPA reported. According to the Greek fire brigade, 51 forest fires broke out between Friday and Saturday morning. The seriously affected areas in the north of Athens, the island of Euboea and the Peloponnese peninsula are especially of concern. The regions are also being monitored from the air, said the fire brigade. Wildfires that have ravaged Greece for over two weeks have been brought under control, a fire brigade spokesman said on Friday. "Since yesterday, there is no major active front left, just scattered pockets," the spokesman said. Firefighters were helped over the past two days by rainfalls and cooler temperatures. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that the country "can be more optimistic today." But he also warned that "we are in the middle of August and we still have difficult days ahead of us." More than 580 fires were observed throughout the country since July 27, razing hundreds of houses and businesses to the ground. Greece's largest fire broke out on Evia on Aug. 3 and was still smoldering on Thursday, after having destroyed most of the island's north. More than 850 firefighters, including hundreds from the Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Poland and Moldova, were continuing efforts to prevent flare-ups in the area, assisted by nine helicopters and eight aircraft, including two massive Ilyushin 11-76 water-dropping planes sent by Russia. The fires, which were triggered by scorching temperatures, also caused considerable environmental damage with 100,874 hectares of forest and olive groves scorched, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. Mitsotakis has described the wildfires as "the greatest ecological catastrophe of the last few decades." — Agencies
