Evia Wildfires of 2021

In August 2021, during one of the worst heatwaves ever recorded in Greece, with temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius, hundreds of wildfires broke out across the country. The most destructive struck the northern part of Evia, Greece's second largest island. The fire burned for more than a week, destroying hundreds of square kilometers of pine forests, olive groves and farmland, along with homes and businesses. Residents and tourists in villages such as Limni, Rovies and Pefki were forced to flee, and many were evacuated by sea on ferries and boats, as the flames reached the shore. Residents fought the flames themselves and criticized the lack of aircraft and crews. Other major fires burned at the same time in the northern suburbs of Athens, near Varympompi, and in the Peloponnese, near ancient Olympia. The fires caused anger at the government's response, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis apologized for failures. The disaster devastated the economy of northern Evia, which depended on forestry, resin collection, honey and tourism, and it deepened concern about climate change in Greece.