Greece: major wildfire
‘brought under control’
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| A helicopter drops water over a forest fire on Evita (ANSA) |
Greek firefighters bring a major wildfire under control
north of Athens, as at least four villages are evacuated and many acres of pine
woods and olive groves destroyed.
By John Carr
The fire has devastated a large area in the centre of Evia,
which is a long island off the east Greek coast, and the location of many
holiday homes.
The only casualty so far is one fireman hospitalized with
burns, though an undetermined number of houses and cars have been torched.
The smoke from the fires cast a pall over Athens, as the
Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, cuts short his holiday in Crete to
coordinate the firefighting.
It’s seen as a test for Mitsotakis’s five-week-old
government which has pledged to upgrade public security.
Better prepared
Memories are still fresh from little more than a year ago,
when 102 people died in a devastating and uncontrollable fire that swept
through the resort town of Mati near Athens.
This time, though, the new government was determined not to
be caught napping, and seems to have mobilized its resources in time to avoid
major casualties.
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