For sixth consecutive daythe firefighting forces, Greek and foreign firefighters, volunteers with ground and aerial means, fire and forestry vehicles and firefighting planes and helicopters are fighting the flames to control and extinguish the large fire in forest of Dadia.

A forest that hosts thirty-six species of birds of prey, with the most prominent species, the black vulture, whose nests in a large part of the protected area are in danger of extinction. The fire in Dadia, in addition to the official firefighting agencies and civil protection personnel, has also mobilized many volunteers from the area, who participate with their own means and assist in any way they are instructed.

The efforts are continuous, as are the meetings at the local Information and Management Center of the forest in the settlement of Dadia, with representatives of the local government and with service agents participating in the extinguishing, in order to form an image of the situation and decide the next steps.

According to the first estimates, the fire occupies a space of one hundred and thirty thousand acres, but at the moment it is impossible to have an exact record of the damage.

“We have a first picture, but we can’t say anything for sure yet, the smoke has to clear, the fire has to go out to see exactly what of this area has been saved and what has been destroyed, because obviously pieces of the forest inside have been saved of the burning area” says the director of the First Department of the Natural Environment and Climate Change Organization (OFYPEKA) Dionysia Hatzilakou and adds:

“As we did last year, after we took the satellite images and made the assessment, we finally saw that from the area that last year’s fire had occupied, there were unburnt islands, healthy pieces of the forest, half of the trees had not burned. In addition, since last year we had started a study for fire protection, on the occasion of last year’s fire, and the experience gained will be used in this case as well”.

Actually, as in the area of ​​the pine forest of Kirki Alexandroupoli, the picture of the disaster is mixed. There are many places along the route where burnt and intact trees alternate. In fact, a very large part of the forest has not been affected, even though the fire often moves in many different directions. There are also clumps of intact forest within the area affected by the fires and which the flames did not approach all these days. Finally, there is an intact forest on the road to the settlement and after it to the fires, which is a great hope for forest regeneration and for the next day. And all this despite the fact that in less than five kilometers in a straight line, high above the settlement of Dadia, one can see smoke, apparently from rekindling, rising into the sky.

The director of Forests P.E. Evrou Petros Anthopoulos drives through the forest in an official vehicle and supervises the efforts, while participating in the meetings with the self-government bodies.

“In total, we have six hundred thousand hectares of forest area at the prefecture level” he says in the briefing held at the center of the Evros Delta – Dadia management unit and adds: “At the moment, the fire is developing in a part of Dadia and an effort is being made to contain it in order to don’t go further north where there is a healthy part of the forest. The fire started in the area of ​​Melia and then after it spread to the surrounding areas, it passed under Egnatia and moved towards Rodopi, on the borders of the prefecture”.

At noon, the firefighters from Albania also arrived, with five fire trucks, to replace their colleagues from Romania. Czech firefighters also explored the area today, and will work alongside their colleagues in the coming days.

Fire, military, police vehicles cross paths in the forest. They carry water and supplies. In some places, fire trucks are pumping water from boreholes and rushing to the fronts of the fire. In many places the flames are in ravines and access is difficult. At these points, the aerial means of firefighting, Kanander planes and Ericson helicopters, which take off from the airport of Alexandroupoli, are concentrated.

The wind has dropped compared to previous days, but not completely. Operations continue and will not stop until the last flames are extinguished, while smaller, more maneuverable vehicles deal with small outbreaks in areas where there are flare-ups. The mayor of Soufli, together with the community leader of Dadia, are trying to do everything possible, whatever is asked of them to help. After all, the area is a great source of livelihood for local residents woodworkers, beekeepers, tourism professionals, who live off the forest.

“Over the last decade, we have had a demographic drop of 22% and of course the intensity of natural disasters, in addition to damage to the environment, also affects the local economy” says the mayor of Soufli Panagiotis Kalakikos and continues:

“The fire will go out but we have to see the next day as well. Our region needs a more active intervention, prevention and employment enhancement programs related to the ecosystem in order for the population to stay. Why not create an education school here as well civil protection officers, all the conditions are there”.

In the evening at the town hall of Soufli there will be another meeting to update and assess the situation.

Among the priorities is to ensure that the fire does not spread to the healthy part of the forest, which is the second breeding nucleus of rare birds and the black vulture, which has so far not been affected by the fire, as well as to stop the spread of the fire. on the front that transmits and feeds back the flames further south and west, towards the Rhodope region.