In flames. A forest fire fanned by strong winds ravaged the vegetation of a southern suburb of Athens in Greece on Saturday, forcing many residents to evacuate, firefighters announced. The Greek civil protection called by SMS via the emergency number 112 the inhabitants of Ano Voula and the surrounding area to leave their homes, the flames having already reached a residential area.
The fire, which is at this stage out of control, also caused the evacuation of four other areas at the end of the afternoon, the wind having changed direction and pushed the flames towards Vari, explained Grigoris Konstantelos, the mayor of Voula, on the television channel Skai. Six water bomber planes, three helicopters and municipal tank trucks are in support of several dozen firefighters who intervened with 20 fire engines. Ant1 TV channel showed police urging locals to leave.
“The situation is very difficult”
Media reported a power outage in the area where roofs, gardens and vehicles were damaged by fire. Skai showed footage of a house on fire with flames licking the inside. Asked by Open TV, Grigoris Kostantelos said that around twenty houses had been damaged. “The situation is very difficult and the wind is not helping,” said Giannis Konstantatos, the mayor of Ellinikon-Argiroupoli, a neighboring town.
“The atmosphere is suffocating, it is difficult to breathe,” he told the Athens News Agency. Giorgos Papanikolaou, the mayor of Glyfada, where the fire broke out, said, without providing further details, that a high-voltage power station had been the cause of the disaster, the agency added. Later in the afternoon, another fire broke out near Athens, in Kouvaras, but no residential areas are threatened.
Outside help
Greece’s worst heat wave in decades last summer, which authorities blamed on climate change, sparked fires that destroyed more than 100,000 hectares of forest and farmland, worst fire damage since 2007.
More than 200 firefighters and equipment provided by other European Union (EU) countries will soon be deployed to Greece to help in the fight against these wildfires. Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Romania and Norway will participate in this operation, coordinated by the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, the European Commission announced on Thursday.
Source: 20minutes
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/PYBBKOVGC5HH3BFSADLGZPRBCA.jpg)
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/BBX6ESWOTNHS3OVVAOSF3P6MHQ.jpg)
