Rodopi: three years since the fire at Sosti

Three years pass on Friday 21 August 2026 since the fire that broke out on 21 August 2023 in the Municipal Unit of Sosti, in the Municipality of Iasmos, in Rodopi. The area remains under a state of emergency: a few days ago, by decision of the Secretary General for Civil Protection, the Civil Protection State of Emergency for the Municipal Unit was extended again, with a new expiry date of 19 February 2027. The extension, three years after the event, reflects the fact that the consequences of the fire have not been fully addressed at the level of infrastructure and of the ground itself. The state of emergency allows the municipality and the competent services to carry out works under fast-track procedures, while the expiry date now moves to the middle of the 2026-27 winter.

The timeline of that day is on record. The first fire broke out at Ano Drosini, in the Ardeia area, and a second above Mischos. Shortly before 16:00 an evacuation order was sent via 112 for Megalos Pistos and Mischos and, after 16:30, for Linos, Sosti and Polyanthos. At the same time the Evros fire was in its third day; it lasted seventeen days in total and, according to a European Commission report, remains the largest fire recorded in Europe since 1980. The proximity of the two fronts meant the available forces were split at the time. The evacuation orders reached residents’ mobile phones within a few tens of minutes, as the front moved towards the settlements of the plain.

Today the picture on the ground is uneven. West of Sosti there is recorded progress in the regeneration of vegetation, while to the east, towards Mischos, regrowth remains limited. One of the main issues of the past three years, the flooding that repeatedly hit Polyanthos after the loss of vegetation, did not recur in the 2025-26 winter, a development that serves as a first sign of stabilisation. Polyanthos was the settlement that came under the greatest pressure from run-off in the first winters after the fire, while the difference between the two parts of the burned area shows that recovery is not proceeding evenly. On the compensation front, the joint ministerial decision on the final payment to the farmers affected in 2023 was signed only in June 2026, that is, almost three years after the damage.

As for the next steps, the Municipality of Iasmos has submitted a funding proposal to the Regional Operational Programme of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, with a total budget of 100,000 euros. Of that, 74,000 euros is intended for the restoration of stream-channelling works in the settlement of Sosti and 26,000 euros for road surface damage caused by flooding in Polyanthos. No approval decision has been announced, nor any timetable for tendering. The sum concerns solely works to repair damage and not reforestation or anti-erosion measures, for which no separate programme has been announced. The anniversary finds the country in a new period of high fire risk, with active fire fronts in other regions.