climate
Forest fires in Greece continue to rage
Firefighters try to put out the flames in a forest in the village of Avantas, near the city of Alexandroupoli. photo
© Achilleas Chiras/AP
The fires are merciless, the wind continues to heat them up: In many places in Greece, people are again spending a night in fear of the fire – or in a desperate fight against the flames.
With garden hoses and fire extinguishers, but also with blankets, brooms and bushes in their hands, they try to fight the flames: At night, in Greece, many thousands of citizens fought alongside the firefighters against the numerous forest fires in the country, volunteers as well as homeowners and villagers.
The flames didn’t bother them much, even if houses and entire villages can be saved in this way time and time again. Huge areas of forest and bush also burned in the north-east of the country in the Dadia National Park, also around the port city of Alexandroupolis, but also on the island of Euboea and west and north of the capital Athens. Not counting the countless smaller fires that broke out yesterday but were quickly brought under control or extinguished. Many people were without electricity and water in the forest fire areas because power poles were burning.
18 migrants die in the flames
“I just packed my medicine, then we’re off,” said an elderly woman who had to flee with others from the village of Dikella west of Alexandroupolis. The television station Skai showed the desperate people: Dozens of them were rescued on the beach by coast guard and fire brigade boats and brought to safety across the sea. A large part of the village later fell victim to the flames, as the broadcaster reported. On the mountain behind, the wall of fire blazed up to 20 meters high.
The pictures were only a small part of the inferno that has the whole country in suspense. The death of 18 migrants hiding in a hut in the area of the national park caused great dismay, probably after entering illegally from Turkey. “Despite the authorities’ constant efforts to protect borders and human life, this tragedy once again confirms the dangers of illegal immigration,” said Migration Minister Dimitris Kairidis. President Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou said it mourned the loss of the people and was dismayed at the inability to prevent it.
Death despite early warning SMS
Two children are said to have been among the dead, as reported by the state broadcaster ERT, citing coroners who started work at the scene of the accident. “The searches throughout the area continue,” said fire department spokesman Giannis Artopoios. He pointed out that warning text messages had been sent out early on for the entire area and were also received on foreign smartphones.
“Despite the alarm and evacuation notices, the stay (of the people) in the Dadia forest unfortunately proved deadly,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. There is deep sadness over the death of fellow human beings on the Evros. The country is confronted with many simultaneous fire fronts in different regions. All available forces fought a fire season that dwarfed all precedents, he said.
According to Greek civil protection, the risk of forest fires remains very high in large parts of the country – especially in those regions where there are already fires. Above all, the usual summer wind “Meltemi” makes life difficult for the fire brigade and drives the flames forward. He should still rule until at least Saturday, it said.