“Despite the fact that 4,500 fires have broken out so far this year, in the most difficult – according to scientists – fire fighting season of the last 40 years, the total burned areas is 24% below the 20-year average” said the Minister of Climate Crisis and of Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias in an interview he gave to the television station Open and to the journalists Spyros Haritato and Chrysas Foskolou. He added that this year 14,300 acres of forest were burned compared to 116,000 acres, which is the average of burned forest areas in the last 20 years.

As he pointed out, the above figures demonstrate the very great and shocking effort made this year by firefighters, volunteers, foresters, forest officials, regional governors, mayors, the Armed Forces, the Local Government and the Greek Police, and indeed in a year with great and devastating fires, like the one in Portugal where in just a few days more than 1 million hectares burned and 7 people lost their lives.

“We have to become more resilient, there is no doubt. And let me tell you how we achieved this. There were two main tools: First, the new doctrine of dealing with forest fires, that is, everyone in the field faster, together with the foresters, fire zones, together with the volunteers, together with the Army and the Police, all organized with joint trainings that we did all winter and which paid off. And of course the new technology, with drones flying 24 hours a day and detecting fires very early on. Also, that we had heavy air patrols over Attica and wherever required, with the result that they intervened immediately.

And a huge legacy of the Mitsotakis Government. The Prime Minister himself allocated 2.1 billion euros to Civil Protection. We are already signing and receiving €1.8 billion in tender projects, such as 7 new Canadairs, 10 medium-sized helicopters, 1,100 fire engines – 300 will be received this year before the 2025 fire season – uniforms for our volunteers and for our firefighters . Radar and weather stations, artificial intelligence, because we are leveling up the way we detect the start of a fire or a flood. This is a lot of hard work that was done throughout the year” said Mr. Kikilias.

He also underlined that the Fire Brigade is constantly being recruited, noting that the Forestry Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also recruited foresters after 40 years. “Serious efforts are being made. I believe that education should also begin in schools on the part of resistance to the climate crisis and in any case, be careful, we live in a time of crises and pressures with wars in our region, with pandemics, with the climate crisis and politicians are judged not by the ones that lightly say the heart right and left in the manner of previous decades. They are judged strictly by their works and the way they operate. What is important for the citizen is to be able to help with his problems, to be by his side and to support him,” he said.