Reinforcements sent to battle Evros blaze
Reinforcements arrived on Friday morning to assist in battling a major fire that broke out Thursday in a forest in the Lyra Dam area, in the northeastern municipality of Soufli, in Evros, which continued to rage during the night.
Firefighters battled the flames through the night but the flammability of the vegetation, which consists mainly of pines, makes their task a difficult one.
A contingent of 291 firefighters, 65 vehicles, four aircraft and four helicopters are attending the blaze, backed up by army machinery and municipal water-trucks.
The Fire Service said that the wildfires that broke out in forested areas between the villages of Tragano and Varda, in the western Peloponnese, have been contained.
The service added that firefighters have made good progress to contain a fire in near Agnada, also in the same region.
Meanwhile, the huge wildfire that ripped through Penteli, north of Athens, on Tuesday completely destroyed around 15 houses, while a larger number suffered minor damages, an initial investigation has found. It also incinerated 2,000 hectares of land.
Ahead of what is expected to be a difficult August, the Civil Protection Ministry and fire service officials are assessing what went right and what went wrong.
A fire department source told Kathimerini that the blaze started simultaneously at two different sources, a fact that is being investigated by experts.
Government officials and fire officials alike gave a positive assessment of the evacuation operations, with a government source saying that almost 50,000 residents were moved to safety.
