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Data from 2024 shows fires burned 419,000 hectares (1 million acres), which is slightly above the average registered between 2006 and 2023.
Around 9,500 fires, including one on the outskirts of Athens, burned nearly 44,500 hectares of land in Greece alone. Portugal had its worst year for forest fires since 2017, with 147,00 hectares affected.
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Europe's civil protection unit is coordinating efforts to protect wildfire-prone countries, with 22 firefighting planes, four helicopters and 650 firefighters positioned in high-risk locations in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain.
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Hard-hit Portugal has reversed its spending priorities and now dedicates more funds to prevention versus suppression. The proportion of total government spending on fire prevention measures has risen from 20% in 2017 to 61% in 2022.
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