The armouring of Central Greece in view of the summer was the focus of a wide-ranging conference held in Lamia.
A broad coordination conference for the preparation of the 2026 fire season was convened in Lamia by the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Evangelos Tournas in collaboration with the Region of Central Greece and the Regional Governor, Fani Spanos. “Preparedness and immediate response is the key to the success of the fire season,” the minister said.
The purpose of the meeting, the minister said, is the overall preparation for the 2026 fire season which, he said, “essentially starts with the end of the previous one”, as well as the evaluation of last year, in order to draw useful conclusions for further strengthening the readiness and coordination of the mechanism. As he explained, “this preparation starts already from November 1 and continues throughout the year, with emphasis on preventive actions, in order for the country to enter the fire season with the least possible risk and the greatest possible resilience.”
He went on to stress that the previous fire season was particularly difficult for Mediterranean countries, noting that it was characterised by prolonged periods of drought, increased average temperatures compared to 2024, with all relevant indicators recording 50-year highs, as well as strong and prolonged winds. More than 10 million hectares were burned in Europe, including 3.9 million in Spain, 2.8 million in Portugal, 1.3 million in Romania, 850,000 in Italy, 1.5 million in Turkey, 600,000 in Albania and 476,000 hectares in Greece, noting that last year was one of the most difficult in decades for the entire European south.
Tournas pointed out that in our country there is an increase in fires after long periods of drought and drought, when these are combined with the intensity of winds, adding that “in 2025, the melts appeared as early as the first ten days of June”. As he explained, they experienced a brief lull in late July and early August, only to intensify again and last until mid-September. He said that this development created particularly difficult operational conditions, with most and most difficult incidents being recorded in the last ten days of June, the last ten days of July and the second ten days of August, while highlighting that strong winds contributed to the occurrence of multiple simultaneous fires, which made it very difficult to manage them due to the dispersion of forces.
Negative record in fire danger indicators At the same time, he cited a negative record in fire danger indicators, stating that there were 61 days with index 3, up 3.8% over the 20-year average, 38 days with index 4, up 21.6%, and 6 days with index 5, up 464%. As noted, indexes 4 and 5 correspond to extremely extreme conditions, in which responding to a fire becomes particularly difficult even at the initial stage.
Referring to the Region of Central Greece, he noted that last year was particularly aggravating in terms of fire weather conditions, however, he stressed that the mechanism responded in time to the majority of incidents and managed to contain the fires in the first year. He said 288 fires were recorded, a 36% decrease compared to the average over the last 20 years, while total burned areas amounted to 19,410 acres, down 77%, while the average burned area per fire was 67 acres, a 68% decrease.
The minister also noted that 61 acres of forest burned, down 99% from the 20-year average, 16,000 acres of woodland, down 33%, while about 2,500 acres were crop residue, reeds, swampland and farmland. According to him, these figures demonstrate the immediate response of the mechanism. As he explained, of the total number of fires, three incidents exceeded 500 hectares and were those that caused the bulk of the total damage, affecting local economic activity, especially on livestock land.
He also said that according to the data of the AIAE, 85.6% of the incidents occurred in rural areas and 14.4% in forest areas, while as for the causes, 60.2% of the fires were due to negligence and 34.4% to intent, stressing the need to intensify controls, strict compliance with preventive measures and the imposition of penalties, as well as the importance of cooperation between all stakeholders to reduce arson, noting that reducing the number of fires is a crucial factor for the effectiveness of the mechanism.
Special emphasis was placed on prevention, noting that for the first time in recent years systematic fuel reduction actions are being developed through programmes such as Antinero, as well as through the strengthening of resources to local governments for clean-ups. He said that funding to municipalities has increased significantly in recent years, reaching 50 million euros this year, and stressed the need for timely use of resources and prioritisation of interventions in high-risk areas, especially on the outskirts of settlements.
At the same time, he stressed that prevention is also the responsibility of citizens, pointing out the need to clean up plots and private spaces, as well as to observe the prescribed measures during agricultural work, in order to prevent fires caused by negligence. Referring to operational preparedness, he noted that the surveillance and early warning system has been significantly strengthened, with the use of drones, patrols and modern technological means, while he stressed that the immediate mobilisation of all forces involved from the outbreak of an incident is a decisive factor for its successful outcome.
Completing his statement, the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection pointed out that these data demonstrate that climate crisis causes phenomena that often exceed the capabilities of the mechanism, even when it is well organized. He stressed that “constant vigilance, immediate implementation of preventive actions and strengthening of the mechanism are prerequisites for an effective response to natural disasters” and underlined the need for strict adherence to the operational doctrine based on surveillance, early warning, deployment of forces and immediate intervention.
Finally, he said that “the level of preparedness and the ability to manage sudden and simultaneous events are the decisive factor for the success of the fire season.” while he set as a key objective for 2026 the reduction of the number of fires through coordinated prevention actions and increased vigilance of all stakeholders and citizens.
The participants
The meeting, held in the hall of the Lamia Municipal Council “Lampros Papadimas” was attended by the Secretary General of Civil Protection, Mr. Gina Economou, Member of Parliament of Euphrates, Gina Economou, the Chief of the Fire Brigade, Lieutenant General PS Theodoros Vayas, Vice-Regional Governors, Municipalities, the Inspector General of Northern Greece, Lieutenant General PS Panagiotis Batrellos, the Operations Coordinator of Central Greece and Thessaly, Major General of the General Staff, Pericles Koulkouvinis, the Deputy Head of the General Directorate of Forests & Forest Environment of the Ministry of Defence, Mr.P.EN.., Mr. Evangelos Gountoufas (via teleconference), Regional Councillors, Deputy Mayors of Civil Protection, representatives of the Armed Forces, the Hellenic Police, the Coast Guard, the DEDDIE, the ADMIE, the Forestry, the O.F.F.P.E.K.A, the Health Units, the Emergency Medical Services, the Emergency Medical Services, OSE, Hellenic Train, the concessionaires of the motorways (Aegean and New & Central Road), the volunteer groups of the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, as well as members of the Fire Brigade and officials of the Region of Central Greece.
