This summer (August - September) we witnessed and experienced the devastating wildfire in Evros, which burned uncontrollably for 17 days, leaving behind 93.560 (approximate) hectares of ash. The Evros fire is the largest recorded fire in Europe since 2000, the year when the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) started recording fires on European territory. The unimaginable scale of the destruction left a huge imprint on both the flora and the rare fauna of the area.

Our main concern, after the passing of the fire and having regrouped and regained our strength, was to record the losses to the rare fauna that has its home in the Dadia National Park in cooperation with the Evros Delta and Dadia National Parks Management Unit of N.E.C.C.A. The response and assistance of the Save Your Hoodsearch and rescue team was immediate and invaluable, as they arrived just a few days after the end of the fire and organized an open call for volunteers to assist in the survey of the losses and the rescue of the affected fauna. A large number of people responded to the call and scouted the area, rescuing a significant number of reptiles, as the search and rescue team had qualified personnel and could take care of them. The majority of the rescued animals were released within unburned areas of the National Park, after consultation with the Evros Delta and Dadia National Parks Management Unit. Both teams' surveys focused on areas where the fire passed with high severity and also on known areas of nesting or roosting of the cinereous vulture, griffon vulture and Egyptian vulture.

The total area that we’ve searched, amounts to 1300 hectares in which 189 dead animals were found, with the majority of them belonging to tortoises and roe deer. The fire started late August and the post-fledglings of the Cinereous and Egyptian vultures from the nests of the National Park were lucky as they managed to fly away.

The results of this action present a rough picture of the impact of the fire on fauna species that could be located in a very small area compared to the areas burned by the fire with great severity throughout Evros and especially in the southern forest complex where the fire burned forests with great speed in a very short time. This is already a disappointing picture of the damage caused to the forest ecosystems of Evros by the wildfire in the summer of 2023.

Here you can read the detailed report with the findings.