Voula fire contained according to minister
Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides announced that a fire, which had broken out in the Attica suburb of Ano Voula and threatened homes in the area, has now been contained and has no active fronts still burning on Sunday morning.
“We faced a very difficult fire due to the difficult weather conditions and the contoured landscape. In spite of the adverse conditions, all those involved – in the field and in coordination – through the coordinated efforts of all the forces of civil defense and the fire brigade, succeeded in containing yesterday’s very difficult fire within six to seven hours,” Stylianides said.
He warned, however, that this was the start of what promised to be a “hard summer” ahead, based on the meteorological forecasts for the Eastern Mediterranean region, which was considered a climate crisis “hotspot.”
“We are still at the start and the aim is to mitigate the repercussions of all the new phenomena arising from the climate crisis,” he added.
He thanked the fire fighters and others involved for their “heroic efforts” during Saturday’s fire, noting that this broke out in three separate locations and that the difficulty of this should not be underestimated.
Deputy Climate Crisis Minister Evangelos Tournas also emphasized the difficulties of the operation and highlighted the fact that no one was killed or injured in a densely populated urban area which presented challenges in terms of its town planning.
He noted that the fire had started in three different locations and reached the forest on the outskirts of residential areas, so that some homes sustained damage in spite of the fire brigade’s efforts.
Tournas said the fire was subsiding, with no actively burning fronts, while strong forces remain on hand to put out any flames that may rekindle. Fire fighting planes and helicopters were continuing to douse the burnt areas from above, he said, in order to fully extinguish any smoldering embers that might reignite, but evacuees had returned to their homes.
The fire started in the Ano Glyfada area on Saturday afternoon and was quickly spread by strong winds to Ano Voula, while two more fires broke out in Vari and Kouvara. A total of 61 fires broke out throughout the country, with 17 fire-fighting aircraft available to fight the fires in Ano Voula.
The fire fighting forces supervising the Ano Voula and Vari areas are expected to be withdrawn from Sunday afternoon, while those at Kouvara have already left as it is now fully extinguished. [AMNA]
