Greek firefighters continued to battle a major wildfire in the Dadia National Park near the border with Turkey for a fifth day on Monday, Ekathimerini reports.
320 firefighters, two water-bombing planes and four helicopters were deployed on Monday to contain the fire at the Dadia park, which broke out on Thursday.
Evros Region Vice-Governor, Dimitris Petrovic, said a precautionary evacuation of people with respiratory and mobility issues from the village of Lefkimi at Dadia National Park, was carried out on Monday.
Moderate winds are fanning two fire fronts, Mr Petrovic added, one in the southern part of the national park and the other in the southwestern region.
The village of Dadia, which was evacuated for the second time in three days on Sunday, was no longer threatened by the fire.
According to maps created by the National Observatory of Forest Fires (NOFFi), over 2,528 hectares of dense woodland have been burnt so far in Dadia park.
Dadia is one of the most important protected areas in Europe, offers ideal habitat for rare birds and is home to the only breeding population of black vultures in the Balkans.
It hosts three out of the four vulture species of Europe – the black vulture, the griffon vulture and the Egyptian vulture – and 36 of Europe’s 38 species of raptors.
Its varied habitats also support 104 butterfly species, 13 amphibian species, 29 reptile species and about 65 mammal species, 24 out of which are bats.
According to reports, the wildfire has caused a serious ‘ecological disaster’ to the national park.
“It’s an uphill battle, a fight to ensure the survival of this exceptional ecosystem,” Greece’s Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Christos Stylianidis, said on Monday after visiting the affected area.
This wildfire comes as emergency crews were trying to contain fires near the archaeological site of Ancient Olympia, the island of Lesvos in the eastern Aegean, and in Pella in central Macedonia on Monday.
In Lesvos, the wildfire at the southern part of the island has been contained but the fire is still burning at area of Rogada, where it first broke out on Saturday, and where water-bombing aircraft are still operating.
READ MORE: ‘We are on your side’: Greek PM promises relief measures for people affected by wildfires.
Source: AMNA and Ekathimerini.
