The Athens-based Stavros Niarchos Foundation has announced a €15 million ($17.59 million) emergency grant in support of wildfire response and relief efforts in Greece.

The funding will support immediate relief efforts for those affected by the fires raging across the country, as well as long-term firefighting preparedness. The foundation is in discussions with the relevant Greek agencies to determine how best to contribute to ongoing efforts.

In the wake of fires that ravaged the country in 2018, the foundation awarded a €25 million ($29.3 million) grant to the Hellenic Fire Corps, which has since funded the delivery of €6.5 million ($7.6 million) worth of personal protective equipment. As part of that grant, last month SNF announced the start of construction on the Firefighting Training Center for the Hellenic Fire Corps in Nea Makri, Attica; the grant also provides for training.

"Our thoughts are with the family of volunteer firefighter Vasilis Filoras, who lost his life while fighting the fires, with everyone who has been injured or hospitalized, and with all those who have lost their homes and livelihoods," the foundation said in a press release. "We are deeply saddened by the destruction of huge forested areas that act as ‘green lungs’ for Greece and are home to a diversity of wildlife — much of which is threatened by the fires."