GREECE-FIRE/RESIDENTS Dozens flee homes as wildfires rage in Greece

Record ID: 146789

  • Title: GREECE-FIRE/RESIDENTS Dozens flee homes as wildfires rage in Greece
  • Date: 17th July 2015
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (JULY 17, 2015) (REUTERS) FIRE BURNING NEXT TO RESTAURANT FIRE BURNING ON HILLSISDE VARIOUS OF TREES IN FLAMES VEHICLES WITH FLASHING RED LIGHTS DRIVING THROUGH CLOUD OF SMOKE ON STREET BILLOWING SMOKE AND HELICOPTER FLYING IN SKY FIREFIGHTER RUNNING THROUGH STREET HELICOPTER FLYING ABOVE APARTMENT BUILDINGS COUPLE ON MOTORBIKE DRIVING THROUGH CLOUD OF SMOKE
  • Embargoed: 1st August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3NKYY6KD90WDT9DZVGC41C83E
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Dozens of Athens residents fled their homes on Friday (July 17) as wildfires fanned by strong winds and high temperatures burned through woodland around the Greek capital, sending clouds of smoke billowing over the city.
    A neighborhood playground burned to the ground and flames surrounded the local church.
    Dozens of people, including elderly women covering their faces with headscarves, tried to put out the flames with hoses and buckets of water.
    "It started on the side - on that side - and then before we even went outside to check it out, it started on the other side as well. So, probably they set fire on two, three places simultaneously," a Kareas resident told Reuters, adding: "I saw that some houses on the top side have already been burned."
    "We went home just to to get our most valuable documents and then we left them with someone and back here to the mountains to help. A firefighter stepped into the fire and got hurt. As a resident of this area, and it's the fourth or fifth time (that we had fires), I have to say that once again the firefighters have no masks, no proper body armour, no gloves. What I can say?" said another resident .
    So far, no one has been reported injured, fire brigade officials said.
    Some 140 firemen, 70 fire engines, four helicopters and seven aircrafts were battling to put the fire under control. Local authorities have also sent more than ten fire vehicles.
    Forest fires are common during the summer months in Greece but memories remain vivid of the huge damage and heavy loss of life caused in 2007, during the most serious outbreak of the past few years.
    Separately, wildfires burned through rural land on the island of Evia near Athens and in the region of Laconia in the Peloponnese where one fire-fighting aircraft was forced into an emergency landing, according to the regional governor.
    State television reported the fire's front was over 15 km (9 miles) long and one health centre in the region was preparing to evacuate patients. A police source said a 58-year-old died after inhaling fumes and suffering respiratory problems.
    The fires are compounding the problems facing the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, which is struggling to obtain a fresh bailout from foreign creditors.
    Tsipras has urged calm and said he had asked the air force and armed forces for help and had also appealed to other European countries for assistance with extra fire-fighting aircraft.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register