Greek fires burned area larger than New York City: EU

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Recent wildfires in Greece have burned an area larger than the city of New York, said the EU's Copernicus Earth Observation Program on Tuesday.

“A total burnt area of 808.7 km2 (312.24 mi2) has been detected, an area larger than New York City,” it said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

In a related development, Balazs Iravju, the EU Commission spokesperson for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said that the union has sent 11 firefighting planes, over 400 firefighters, 62 vehicles, and one helicopter in response to wildfires in Greece’s Evros region, which he called the largest wildfires in EU history.

The fire in the region – in northeastern Greece, bordering Türkiye – continues to rage on two major fronts on its 11th day, as reported by Greece’s state-run AMNA news agency.

With increased ground and aerial firefighting forces and with mild winds, the extinguishing operations continue on the two remaining fronts of the fire in Evros, in Leptokarya, and the area of Kotronia, it added.