Local response to extreme wildfire events in populated areas: practices and lessons learned from the Mati/Attica (2018) and North Evia (2021) fires, Greece

Abstract

Extreme wildfires management requires a more holistic approach where proactive governance, citizens and local communities play a central role. Two recent devastating wildfires, in Greece in July 2018 in Mati/Attica and in August 2021 in North Euboea which had a high impact on society and at a political level, demonstrated to a large extent the gaps in the Civil Protection mechanism, as well as the inadequate preparedness of the local population to deal with such fires. Both fires burned under extreme weather conditions (i.e., extreme winds in Mati and prolonged heatwave in Euboea) and in parallel with other major fires in the country. However, they were characterized by quite different fire regimes, ecosystem and landscape features, and the local communities’ type that they affected. This paper studies and analyses the combined response of the civil protection authorities and the local communities during these major fire events. Focused surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and round tables with citizens, first responders, and representatives of the touched communities were organized to collect information on identified problems, challenges and dangers faced and also practices that proved effective during the response phase. The aim of this work is to identify lessons learned for suggesting a revision of current practices and policies to bridge the gap among the efforts of the actors involved in wildfire management and to facilitate the development of local adaptation plans to increase the resilience of the local communities to wildfire risk.