Civil Protection places Crete and Karpathos under ‘Red Code’ wildfire alert for Monday
Greece’s General Secretariat for Civil Protection has placed the regional units of Heraklion, Lasithi and Rethymno on Crete, along with the regional unit of Karpathos in the South Aegean, under a “Red Code” wildfire alert for Monday, August 31, according to the agency’s daily fire risk forecast map. The classification corresponds to category 4, described as very high risk of fire outbreak.
Under the red-code designation, the National Mechanism for civil protection is placed on full mobilization, deploying personnel and equipment appropriate to the level of threat. The measures cover readiness for emergency response, management of the consequences of any destructive event, and short-term recovery and support actions to mitigate potential damage.
As part of the alert, municipalities and regional authorities in the affected areas have been asked to convene their Local Operational Coordination Bodies for Civil Protection (TESOPP) and Regional Operational Coordination Bodies for Civil Protection (PESOPP) without delay, to review readiness measures and risk-response plans for forest fires.
Monday’s alert follows a similar Red Code warning issued for Crete on Sunday, as authorities continue to track elevated fire danger across the island heading into September. Earlier in the week, several municipalities had already moved to close forests, gorges and trails under comparable risk conditions.
