Europe’s $42 Billion Effort to Fight Fires Is an Uphill Battle
The region is deploying water-bombing planes and hundreds of firefighters to douse blazes. Yet experts say prevention should be prioritized more as climate change increases wildfire risks.
A firefighter at the scene of a wildfire in Dionysos, Greece, on Aug. 12.
Photographer: Nick Paleologos/BloombergEurope is spending tens of billions of euros a year to fight wildfires, yet it hasn’t stopped blazes from flaring up across Greece and other parts of the continent this summer.
This week fires on the outskirts of Athens engulfed more than 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) — about double the size of Manhattan. The flames forced thousands of people across the Attica region, which surrounds the city, to evacuate. More than 700 firefighters, dozens of planes and helicopters and around 200 firefighting vehicles were deployed to extinguish the inferno.