Meteorological Conditions Conducive to the Rapid Spread of the Deadly Wildfire in Eastern Attica, Greece

Abstract

AbstractOn 23 July 2018, Attica, Greece, was impacted by a major wildfire that took place in a wildland–urban interface area and exhibited extreme fire behavior, characterized by a very high rate of spread. One-hundred civilian fatalities were registered, establishing this wildfire as the second-deadliest weather-related natural disaster in Greece, following the heat wave of July 1987. On the day of the deadly wildfire, a very strong westerly flow was blowing for more than 10 h over Attica. Wind gusts up to 30–34 m s−1occurred over the mountainous areas of Attica, with 20–25 m s−1in the city of Athens and surrounding suburban areas. This strong westerly flow interacted with the local topography and acted as downslope flow over the eastern part of Attica, with temperatures rising up to 39°C and relative humidity dropping to 19% prior to the onset of the wildfire. These weather elements are widely acknowledged as the major contributing factors to extreme fire behavior. WRF-SFIRE correctly predicted the spatiotemporal distribution of the fire spread and demonstrated its utility for fire spread warning purposes.