Greece Forest Fires Burn Near Athens: Burns Homes and Land

by Amy Judd | August 22, 2009 at 01:30 pm

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Greece is battling raging forest fires today on the outskirts of Athens; several homes have already been burned and acres of land has been destroyed.

A state of emergency has been declared, as the fire is not under control and is spreading towards Athen's northern suburbs. The fire broke out late on Friday in Grammatiko, a village in the northeast of the area around the capital.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis chaired a meeting at the fire fighters' operations center in Athens and opposition party politicians rushed to the affected areas to offer support.

"It is a great and a very difficult battle," Karamanlis said. "The first priority is the protection of people's lives and property."

Strong winds are making the fires worse, and the dry land such as the olive groves, are just providing perfect fire conditions. Eight homes have been severly damaged so far and residents are trying to save their own houses.

"Residents with hoses, shovels, tree branches and buckets of water are trying to save their property. The elderly are taken to safe places," a Reuters witness said.

More firefighters and planes are needed in order to get the fire under control. There are currently about 12 aircraft, 8 helicopters, 61 fire engines and 210 firefighters working in the region with 38 water tanks, but it's not enough.

"It's a very difficult fire because it is raging in a mixed zone of residential areas and forest land," Greek fire brigade spokesman Giannis Kapakis said.

Winds are forecast to ease a bit, but will build up again on Sunday around the capital.
There are over 100 fires currently burning in Greece, with four new ones on the islands of Evia, Skyros, Rhodes, and Zakynthos.

Wildfires are common in Greece, due to high temperatures and winds, drought and even arson. The deadliest fires were in 2007, when the fires burned for over 10 days and killed 65 people.

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