Greece Gains on Wildfires, Faces Climate Change Criticism

ATHENS - Massive forest fires have gripped Greece for more than a week. The government has come under fierce criticism for failing to heed warnings of wildfires amid a protracted heat wave affecting not just Greece but the Balkans and southern Europe.

Some of the nearly 600 wildfires that have sparked across Greece, have been brought under control. But fresh ones flared on the island of Evia and in the Peloponnese, adding to the 62 evacuation orders authorities issued over the past week across the country.  Several mayors criticized a lack of aerial support in fighting the fires, despite the government's assurances earlier this year that it had set aside ample resources. But even before the fires began, environmental experts had warned of the pending danger  Those experts, including Costas Synolakis, a professor of natural hazards management, say the government in Athens has yet to grasp the extent of the threat of climate change.