There is no more active front, only scattered pockets, but Greek firefighters are still mobilized on Wednesday to fight the forest fire that has devastated the outskirts of Athens since Sunday, causing the death of a woman, significant damage and the displacement of thousands of people.
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“The fire is no longer as intense as it was in recent days, but there are still some hot spots that could reignite the flames,” a firefighters spokesman told AFP.
“Approximately 530 firefighters are still on the ground with 145 vehicles, and we have received help from our European colleagues, although they have not yet been deployed in Attica,” he added.
Nearly 300 firefighters, as well as other helicopters, fire vehicles and water trucks, were sent to Greece from six countries (France, Italy, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia and Turkey), after the country activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism.
Driven by strong winds, Greece’s worst wildfire of the year has spread across dry land since Sunday, ravaging 10,000 hectares and destroying countless buildings and vehicles. According to civil protection, around 100 houses suffered significant damage.
According to the meteo.gr website, 37% of Attica’s forests have burned down in the last eight years.
The fire broke out on Sunday afternoon near the historic town of Marathon, 40 km northeast of Athens, which has more than 7,000 inhabitants and had to be evacuated.
Dozens of evacuation orders were sent to residents in the region. Several stadiums were opened to accommodate the displaced.
On Tuesday morning the body of a Moldovan woman, aged around sixty, was found at her workplace in a burnt-out factory, in Jalandri, near Athens, according to authorities.
Investigators examined the area where the fire started in the municipality of Varnavas and, according to the centre-right newspaper Kathimerini, The track appears to lead to a faulty electric pole.
As for financial aid, 4.7 million euros (5.2 million dollars) are planned for the eight municipalities affected.
Anger is raging in this country, which is hit by destructive fires almost every summer and is still inadequately prepared.
Following an emergency meeting of ministers on Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he was doing “everything possible to improve every year, but conditions are becoming more difficult.”
During a visit on Wednesday to a military base where the firefighting planes are stationed, he thanked the pilots for their dedication and “the great work carried out” in recent days.
On Tuesday evening, around 200 people demonstrated in front of parliament to denounce the government’s “crime”.
Fire risk remains very high on Wednesday, especially in northern Greece, firefighters warned.
Greece is particularly vulnerable to forest fires after a very dry winter. The months of June and July were the warmest since statistics began to be collected in 1960.
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