2023-08-30 14:09:06
The situation remains very difficult on the fiery front of Evros, where a battle is being fought for the twelfth day in a row, while a while ago two evacuation messages were sent by 112 for the areas of Giannouli and Sidiro.
In the first message, those in the Giannouli area are asked to move away towards Soufli.
The two major fronts remain active, in the areas of Leptokarya and in particular in Megalo Rema and Kotronia.
The work of extinguishing, despite the strong firefighting forces -ground and air- which operate continuously in the area, in the last hours has become even more difficult especially in the fiery front of Kotronia as the change in the direction of the winds to southerlies, from north-easterlies that were blowing against the flames in the previous days, today it pushes the fire with its course seemingly uncontrollable.
It is noted that in the area 475 firefighters with 100 vehicles, 16 infantry units with the air support of 11 aircraft and five helicopters have been allocated for the extinguishing operations.
As ERT broadcasts, the crew of the state television in the area of Kotronia was forced to leave a forest road, where they were covering the developments, under the instructions of the army, while the journalists were asked to move away towards Soufli.
As reported, the village had few permanent residents who have already moved away, while volunteers from the surrounding villages remain and the fire brigade is being reinforced with assistance from the adjacent camp.
Among the firefighters fighting the flames in the area, are forces from Cyprus, Germany, Bulgaria, Serbia, France, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Albania.
Images of disaster: The before and after in Dadia
Meanwhile, the Biodiversity Protection Society of Thrace released photos before and after the devastating fire from the forest of Dadia.
The images in question show the devastating impact on the ecosystem, which was given over to the flames, with lush green lands now giving way to a sad landscape of burnt trees.
It is recalled that the president of the Department of Forestry and Natural Environment of AUTH, Alexandros Dimitrakopoulos, expressed fears that the forest of Dadia “will not be seen again as we knew it” after the fire.
Speaking on the radio station of APE – MPE, Mr. Dimitrakopoulos said that “we will not be able to have the ecosystem of Dadia again. We cannot include this particular ecosystem in the more general losses of 1,500,000 hectares of forest land that burned. It is something unique,” he added.
Decades for the regeneration of the forest treasure
As “K” wrote in a recent report, what was destroyed in a few days, it will take decades to be created again if the necessary conditions and provisions are in place.
A large percentage of the burned forest areas are located in the core of the ecosystem in zone A, which in total extends to 73,000 hectares. After this year’s fire – as last year 45,000 hectares of the forest were burned compared to 133,000 this year -, according to the data so far, only the northern part of zone A of the forest remains.
Dadia is not a simple pine forest but a mature pine forest, with trees large enough to support the life of birds of prey, which this year’s fire found just as their young were growing.
“It’s a vicious circle”
Have we lost Dadia forever? “No one can say for sure what the next day will be like. It is very premature and the destruction is of enormous proportions, unimaginable I would say”, emphasizes Georgia Alexopoulou from the Hellenic Ornithological Society.
“There may be islets that were saved, but the extent of the destruction is enormous,” adds Dora Skartsi, administrator of the Society for the Protection of Biodiversity of Thrace, which was founded in 2020 in order to continue the action that WWF Greece has been carrying out in the area for thirty years. He explains that the means used to extinguish the forest fire all these days were not sufficient, resulting in constant flare-ups.
The fire brigade gave priority to the settlements – and logically – “but as long as the fire in the forest does not go out, it is certain that settlements will be at risk again”, emphasizes Mrs. Skartsi. “It’s a vicious cycle, especially when the weather conditions are conducive to fire.”
How easy is it to regenerate the forest? “The forest is regenerating but it takes time. Certain conditions also need to exist. The part of the forest to the west of the village of Lefkimi, about 60,000 acres, had burned in the big fire of 2011. Now they have recently regenerated, it took 12 years to fully recover, and now it has burned again,” notes Mrs. Skartsi.
“Funds and Time”
The coming days, the winter, and the coming years will be difficult for the region. “It will take people and money. Just to replace the PPC pillars, large funds and time are needed.
There will be erosion on the burnt lands. The people who lived from the forest? Firewood for heating in winter?’ he wonders. “It’s not just about the natural environment and biodiversity, but also about society in these places. It is very serious what will happen to the people who live and work here.
People are also needed to protect what is left of the forest,” he points out. The time has come to decide if we want the forest of Dadia together with the responsibilities that its survival entails.
“There is a next day, but it needs real political will and immediate support. No promises about things that will be done”, underlines Mrs. Skartsi.
Source kathimerini.gr
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