Kythira fire was this year’s most devastating
More than 2,300 hectares of land was burnt by the recent wildfire that swept across much of the island of Kythira, according to data collected by the FireHub radar system of the National Observatory of Athens’s BEYOND center, which monitors natural disasters in Southeastern Europe.
The blaze, which raged for roughly three days from last Friday to Monday, caused more destruction than any other fire in Greece this summer.
According to the data, 47 percent of the area destroyed was shrubland, 20 percent had sparse foliage, 26 percent was agricultural land while another 7 percent was specified as cultivated farmland.
The fire in the area of Kotrona in the Peloponnese in July was the second most destructive this year, burning 1,850 hectares, while a blaze at Kalyvia, southeast of Athens, later last month razed 331.2 hectares. The fire on the Saronic island of Spetses in early August claimed 77.2 hectares.
The extent of the damage on Kythira led to a barrage of criticism against the government, with opposition parties charging there was poor coordination and a lack of aerial support.
