Greece, prey to heat wave with temperatures close to 46 ° C, faced multiple forest fires on Saturday fought by strong winds, especially near Athens.
From the island of Crete to the Peloponnese peninsula (southwest) via the capital region, several of these fires worried the authorities, for whom “the most difficult is still to come”, according to the spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis.
“All the services (of firefighters) of the country were placed on a general alert, as well as all the forces of civil protection,” he added during a brief press point.
In this customary Mediterranean country of intense heat waves, some 52 fire departures have been listed by firefighters in the past 24 hours, according to the same source, of which 44 have however been mastered.
Since Monday, the whole country has been struck by a heat wave that has increased the thermometer up to 45.8 ° C on Friday locally.
Sixth day
Saturday, sixth consecutive day of high heat, the temperature in Athens reached 40.8 ° C and should only fall back on Monday, according to weather forecasts.
Greece, which strongly undergoes the impact of climate change, asked for aid from the European Union to cope with the flames with six fire -fighting planes, via the European Resource Program (Resceu).
30 km north of the Greek capital, the authorities called on the inhabitants to evacuate two villages, Drosopigi and Kryoneri, where many houses are in flames according to the public television ERT.
At the end of the day, a sky loaded with smoke, oscillating between gray and red, formed above Athens.
Violent winds, forcibly 5 to 6 degrees on the Beaufort scale, complicated the operations of the firefighters while civil protection had placed the Attica, the region of Athens, in red vigilance (the maximum level) because of the extreme risk of fires.
Fire gusts
The situation is difficult and unpredictable because “the region knows gusts of wind that resemble gusts of fire,” said Giannis Moniakis, adviser to the mayor of Oropos, on which these localities depend.
A total of 102 firefighters are deployed in this area, as well as 36 vehicles, two aircraft and three helicopters, according to the Ana news agency.
On the small island of Cythera, off the Peloponnese (southwest), an evacuation operation by sea of people trapped on a beach was underway, according to the Greek agency Ana.
These people, whose number was not specified, could not leave the Limniona beach by road due to the speed of propagation of the flames around.
A maritime patroller and three private boats ensure this evacuation.
On this island of 3,600 inhabitants appreciated by tourists, the blaze is out of control. Violent winds blowing at 6 on the Beaufort scale have accelerated the spread of flames.
To strengthen the workforce on site, 16 firefighters and six vehicles were transported by boat.
On the island of Ebée, close to Attica, another fire was also out of control. Two firefighters were hospitalized with light injuries.
“The destruction is immeasurable because several pig farms in the region have already been ravaged by the flames,” said the mayor of Dirfion-Messapion, on which the island of Ebée, Giorgos Psathas depends.
Another fire also raged in the Peloponnese, in the region of Messénie.
On Saturday the highest temperature was recorded in the west of Greece, in Amfilochia, at 45.2 ° C, according to the Meteo.gr site of the National Observatory of Athens.
At the beginning of summer, a major forest fire on the very touristy island in Crete had led to thousands of evacuations.
Greece is experiencing destructive fires every summer. Last year was particularly dramatic in the matter, with a huge blaze that had reached the suburbs of Athens.
This article was published automatically. Sources: ATS / AFP
