Greek firefighters mastered a forest fire 90 kilometers from Athens. However, specialists fear an environmental disaster. This is one of the biggest fires of the past 20-30 years, Greek media has written.
/France Press agency
More than 270 firefighters are taking part in the firefighting, supported by 16 aircraft and the army. They managed to control the fire, but flames still appeared in some places. The fire will be extinguished tomorrow. No one was injured, but many homes were destroyed and dozens of villages evacuated. There are also crop losses.
“The fire in the Gerania mountain range, about 90 kilometers west of Athens, is one of the largest in the past 20 to 30 years, and it started before the” fire season “, Stefanos Kolokoris, Fire Chief, told ANT1.
Losses can only be estimated after the fire is extinguished. But the fire destroyed 55 square kilometers of protected fields and pine forests. Part of the Geraneia mountain range is located within the Natura 2000 region of the European Union.
Euthymios Lekkas, a professor at the University of Athens, on environmental hazards, said action must now be taken to prevent floods and landslides.
In Greece, summer forest fires are very common due to the dry and hot climate, strong winds and high temperatures.
In 2018, 102 people were killed in the coastal resort of Matti during the most tragic forest fires near Athens.
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