[REVISION HISTORY]

Crete wildfires response August 2026 – Sitia fire contained

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-08-08 05:05 UTC → 2026-08-09 12:42 UTC · added ~~removed~~

A wildfire swept through the village of Fichti on Crete’s southern coast on 31 July, driven by strong winds across olive groves and homes. Firefighters, aided by local ~~volunteers,~~ volunteers and coordinated by the Municipality of Argos-Mykines, contained the blaze, preventing any loss of life but causing significant damage to crops and biodiversity. The incident was part of a broader wave of large fires across Greece that had already claimed three firefighters elsewhere. On 7 August, a second fire ignited in the Achladia area of Sitia, near a ~~wind‑turbine~~ wind-turbine park. Strong winds again hampered the effort, but about 40 firefighters, two specialist ~~forest‑operations~~ forest-operations teams, volunteers and eleven fire engines, supported by municipal water pumps, kept the fire from spreading beyond its origin. The site was classified as ~~high‑risk~~ high-risk (category 3) and an arson investigation unit was opened. By early Saturday morning the fire front had been extinguished; authorities reported no evacuations were needed and that the blaze started within a fenced area. It was the third fire in the wider Sitia region within 48 hours, prompting continued monitoring through the night as weather conditions could reignite the fire.

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