Country at the mercy of the wind
Firefighters, including from EU, dispersed across Greece as properties and forestland razed
Strong winds continued to fan Greece’s fiery nightmare on Wednesday as firefighters, including foreign contingents, battled blazes around the country and on the outskirts of the capital that have already claimed 20 lives.
The dispersion of firefighting forces to deal with multiple fronts was confirmed by Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias.
“Indicative of the extremely difficult situation we are facing is that alongside the mega-fire in Evros on Tuesday, the Fire Department was called to deal with nine high-risk fires in Attica, six in Viotia and one in Evia,” he stressed.
Many houses were burned in Agia Paraskevi in Viotia and the historic church of Ossios Loukas was in flames. A second fire broke out Wednesday noon in Evia, specifically in Dokos, Halkida, near a cemetery in the area, while earlier there had been a fire in a forest area in Kontodespoti. A message was sent for evacuation by 112, but shortly afterwards the fire service announced that the blaze was under control.
In Attica, and in confirmation of the fire brigade’s worst fears, the fires entered the urban fabric, damaging properties in the municipality of Acharnon in northern Athens and extending into the Parnitha National Park.
The fire also entered the settlement of Agia Paraskevi in Menidi as the direction of the wind shifted, burning houses and threatening residents.
It also reached the stream of Saint George, a ravine on Mount Parnitha just west of the casino and the cable car, while approaching the Kapota military base, with the unit’s administration hastily evacuating the young soldiers.
There was also mobilization at the academies of Hellenic Police (ELAS) in Amygdaleza where the flames came close but did not harm the facility. But as the fire worsened, it was deemed necessary to transport the approximately 800 migrants detained in the closed camp to Malakasa and the Aliens Directorate on Petrou Ralli Street.
On a more optimistic note, the winds had died down by late evening, the humidity in the Mount Parnitha area was over 50% and firefighters were confident that the blaze would even be contained on Thursday.
During the night, forest rangers and hiking parties were to attempt to reach the remaining active fronts in the Parnitha massif and contain them by working on the ground.
