Firefighters test readiness as Greece enters wildfire season

By Karolina Tagaris

LAVRIO, Greece (Reuters) -On a hillside outside Athens, firefighters, rescuers and the army stand ready to tackle an encroaching wildfire near a summer camp - a scenario all too familiar in Greece, where climate change has made blazes more frequent and devastating.

With Greece well into its wildfire season, Thursday's exercise near the seaside town of Lavrio some 70 kilometres south of the capital was held simultaneously across the country.

Fire trucks raced to the scene and aircraft dumped water on a simulated flame. Authorities described the drill's weather conditions as "realistic" - hot and windy after weeks of drought.

Greece, whose Mediterranean climate makes it more vulnerable to climate change, recorded its hottest summer last year as well as prolonged periods of drought that led to water shortages and damaged crops. This June is forecast to be warmer than usual across southern Europe.

The government is planning to deploy a record number of firefighters this year - around 18,000 from 15,500 in 2022 - backed by volunteers. It will spend around 2 billion euros on new aircraft and will use nearly twice as many thermal camera drones to catch fires early.

"Our goal is to not mourn human lives and to protect property and the environment," Kefalogiannis said.

Some 9,777 wildfires broke out across Greece last year according to the fire brigade, up from 8,257 in 2023.

One of Europe's biggest wildfires on record burned for weeks in northern Greece in 2023, killing at least 20 people. Last summer, a wildfire fanned by gale force winds reached Athens's northern suburbs, forcing hundreds to flee.

(Reporting by Karolina Tagaris, editing by Ed Osmond)