Greek officials announce doubled aerial firefighting fleet and new fire‑prevention strategy

Undersecretary Kostas Karagounis said that extreme winds of up to 140 km/h have limited aerial operations, but the number of firefighting aircraft has been doubled compared with previous years, allowing fires to be contained more effectively when conditions permit. He presented four pillars of the government’s fire‑management policy – prevention, early detection using modern technology such as drones, coordination and restoration – and noted that additional personnel and systematic clearing of plots have helped stop fires, with cleared land often halting fire spread.

George Karagiannis, director of the Center for Natural Disaster Research at the Academy of Athens, warned that forest regeneration after the recent Attica and Boeotia blazes will require 15‑20 years. He stressed that prevention hinges on informing citizens, cleaning vulnerable plots and conducting controlled burns. He cited a house in Lachana that survived because owners had applied prescribed safety measures. Karagiannis called for continued public education and avoidance of ignition sources such as open flames and burning waste.