Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has tweeted a message of thanks to the 22 countries that sent help to fight the fires that have engulfed large swaths of Greece.

“On behalf of the Greek people, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the countries that have sent assistance and resources to help fight the wildfires. We thank you for standing by Greece during these trying times,” he tweeted late on Sunday.

The 22 countries include 11 EU members (Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden) plus Egypt, Israel, Kuwait, Moldova, Qatar, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The battle with the many wildfires that have been raging in Greece since Tuesday last week continued through the weekend, with firefighters and volunteer still unable to get some of them under control. On Sunday, the Greek authorities were dedicating most resources to the four largest blazes, three of which are in the Peloponnese, and one on the island of Evia.

On Evia, Greece’s second largest island reachable by car just an hour from Athens, the fire cut across the island from coast to coast, isolating its northern part. Over a thousand people were evacuated by sea since Friday, as villages were evacuated and the fire closed in on the coast behind them, eliminating the option to escape by land.

Officials and locals on Evia and in many other burning areas of Greece appealed for more firefighters and water-dropping planes.

A fifth dangerous fire in the northern suburbs of Athens appeared to be on the wane, after burning dozens of homes and businesses in the Greek capital’s northern suburbs, triggering the evacuation of thousands of people and decimating large tracts of forest, including the Mount Parnitha national park, one of the last forests near Athens. One volunteer died after being hit by a falling electricity pole.

As for the cause of the fires, Greek and European officials have blamed climate change for the large number of fires that burned through southern Europe in recent days, from Italy to the Balkans, Greece and Turkey. The fires in Greece begun as the country was suffering from the worst heatwave recorded since 1987. Meanwhile, several people in Greece have also been arrested on suspicion of starting blazes, either intentionally or by accident.

Besides thanking the countries who have lent their support to Greece, Prime Minister Mitsotakis also visited the airport from which firefighting planes take off and thanked the pilots on Saturday, while he also added that securing aid for everyone affected by the wildfires will be his “first political priority,” followed by ensuring the reforestation of all the affected areas: “When this nightmarish summer has passed, we will turn all our attention to repairing the damage as fast as possible, and in restoring our natural environment again.”

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Source: ekatimerini.com, AP