Two separate major wildfires on Monday 17th July 2023 were tearing through the country as it suffers the effects of a scorching heatwave called 'Cleon'.  Greek authorities ordered the evacuation of the villages of Kallithia, Pefki and Irini near the coastal spa town of Loutraki, just 5kms north of the Corinth Canal.  1,200 children were evacuated to Loutraki as flames approached their summer camp.  A smoke-cloud was clearly seen drifting past Ermioni on Monday afternoon as the strong northernly 'meltemi' wind blew the menacing dark cloud south.  Fanned by the strong wind, firefighters were battling to contain the spread of the flames.  There were 135 firefighters and 40 soldiers with 50 fire-engines operating on the scene, supported by 3 aircraft and 4 helicopters.  However, the strong 'meltemi' winds were making it very difficult for Canadair 'water-bombing' aircraft to approach the fires safely.

The wildfires have affected transport in some areas, with police forced to shut sections of the E08 Corinth-Athens national highway (and its secondary main road) and some Hellenic Train services have also been disrupted on the Corinth-Elefsina railway line. 

The second larger blaze broke out in the village of Kouvaras, 27kms southeast of Athens, and spread fast amid the erratic winds. Hellenic Police helped to evacuate more than 100 people in the area and dozens of horses were evacuated in trucks as the flames reached stables in the Kalyvia and Anavyssos areas.  Due to the high winds, the blaze spread 12kms in two hours.  Police have detained a person suspected of arson.  More than 200 firefighters assisted by 20 soldiers, 68 fire-engines, 10 aircraft and 6 helicopters were fighting the flames near Kouvaras.  Coastguard boats were patrolling along the coast to help evacuate citizens if required.  A third forest fire broke out on Monday afternoon in the area of Dervenochoria, 30kms north of Athens, which quickly spread out towards residential areas.  

Greek authorities said they were battling 81 blazes in total across the country on Monday.  The EU is sending 4 more Canadair water-bombing aircraft from France and Italy to assist with the wildfires, together with 3 firefighting teams from Poland, Romania and Slovakia.  Greece still has memories of a wildfire disaster in 2018, when a blaze killed 101 people in the coastal town of Mati. 

On Thursday 20th July, the wildfire that broke out on Monday in Kallithea, near Loutraki, was contained and brought under control.  According to first estimates, more than 1,500 hectares have been burnt, with over 40 residental houses burnt or destroyed, with others suffering minor damage.  The wildfire has also caused damage to the electricity and water supply network in the area, with some public road surfices damaged by the intense heat.  Further fires were reported near Sparta in the Peloponnese and Rhodes. 

Over the following weekend, the wildfire on Rhodes spread out of control.  Many residents and tourists were evacuated from their homes and hotels as strong winds spread the fire in central and southeastern parts of the island, including Asklepion and Lindos.  With temperatures of 45°C on Sunday, the largest evacuation in Greece of over 20,000 people continued in the areas affected.  Rhodes Airport is located in the northern part of the island and is unaffected by the wildfires, however, a number of European tour operators have started to cancel their flights and cancel bookings to the southeastern resorts of Rhodes for the next few days.

Tragically, on Tuesday 25th July, two Greek air force pilots were killed after their Canadair CL-215 aircraft crashed while fighting wildfires on the Greek island of Evia.  The water-bombing plane crashed just after it had dropped its load battling a forest fire over the town of Karystos.  Greek TV showed the Canadair aircraft flying low to drop water on a hillside fire before its right wing clipped some nearby trees, tearing off its wing float, then turning sharply and crashing into a ravine, bursting into flames.  The plane was one of four aircraft and about 100 firefighters tackling the wildfires on Evia.  The Hellenic Defence Minister said "the pilots lost their lives in the line of duty, while attempting to protect the lives and property of citizens, as well as the envirnment of our country". 

On Wednesday 26th July, six municipal units of Rhodes were declared in a state of emergency by the decision of the Minister of Civil Protection, due to the spreading wildfires affecting the island.  The state of emergency was lifted on Saturday 29th July 2023. 

The Hellenic Climate Crisis & Civil Protection Minister announced on Friday 28th July that the fire risk factor had dropped below the highest fire alert level of red for the first time in 15 days.  During this period, 667 fires occured, 10 of which were major.  These incidents were attributed to extreme climate phenomena, including a severe heatwave, drought and high winds.  Sadly, the majority of these fires were arson, either due to criminal negligence or intent, resulting in five people loosing their lives during this period.  Sacrifice and heroism are the characteristics of all those people who fight fires, from the firefighters to residents and volunteers.