Chios is currently experiencing one of the most severe environmental disasters in recent Greek history.
For the third consecutive day, an uncontrollable wildfire has scorched vast swathes of the island, with more than 30,000 hectares destroyed by Tuesday evening and large active fronts still burning fiercely in the south and southwest.
According to Giorgos Papavasileiou, wildfire researcher with the National Observatory of Athens’ FLAME team, satellite data from the Copernicus Emergency Management Service estimated more than 22,200 hectares were affected in the first 24 hours alone. Conditions worsened significantly on Monday due to strong northerly and northeasterly winds (up to 6 Beaufort), and extremely dry dead forest fuel, with moisture levels under 10%.
Although initial fire weather conditions on Sunday were not extreme, the failure of early containment efforts allowed the fire to grow rapidly. Critically, the fire remained highly active overnight despite a slight drop in wind strength – depriving ground crews of the only viable window for containment efforts.
The fire has not yet reached the official threshold of a “mega-fire,” but current estimates suggest it may soon do so, depending on weather conditions and firefighting success. Although in most areas the fire stayed close to the ground, it occasionally spread through tree crowns, resulting in dangerous fire behavior.
Mr. Papavasileiou stresses the urgent need for enhanced real-time scientific support in the field, improved cause identification systems, and the constant monitoring of local vegetation and fire danger indexes. These steps, he argues, are essential to improve preparedness and avoid misinformation.
The island’s communities remain on high alert. Evacuations were carried out in at least two villages—Lithí and Vessa—while local officials have requested more aerial firefighting support. With thousands of hectares lost, the focus is now shifting not just to controlling the fire, but to assessing the long-term environmental and economic consequences for Chios and its people.
This wildfire is a grim reminder that Greece’s fire prevention strategy must evolve urgently in the face of climate change, increasing drought, and limited firefighting resources.
