Greece on fire: 141 fires in a three-day period – Where are the fronts
Difficult days for the fire department, as within three days they were called to deal with 141 fires throughout Greece.
All the fires were treated with the immediate response of the forest firefighting mechanism and most of them under control in the first year with the intervention of the levels and internal forces.
The main fronts took place in Akritochori of Messinia (Koroni), Phaistos of Heraklion, Sagiada village of Thesprotia, Ano Liosia of Attica, Sofiko of Corinthia, Tsakatoura of Grevena and Vrysoula of Preveza.
Of these, the following fires are ongoing, in Dadia Evros, Stavros Lesvos, and Krestena in Ilia.
In Dadia, the image of the fire raging for the fifth day is better. According to the latest information, the northern part of the fire, towards the village and the facilities of the Unit, is progressing well, as it is estimated that the fire protection zone and its expansion worked effectively.
The northeastern part of the fire, towards the Monastery and the forest nursery, also has a better image, as the zone opened by the forces (loggers and firefighters) around the Monastery worked very well.
Veltiomeni is also the image in the eastern part, towards Lykofi.
The weight is given to the south-west and west part, so as to ensure the black vulture colony.
Forestry loggers have been working since yesterday, trying to create 2 fire zones, so that ground forces can be placed as a line of defense along with aerial means.
Fire progress on these two fronts is slow.
Optimism is also brought by the fact that the weather changed in the Evros area and it started raining…
The representative of the Fire Department, Yiannis Artophios, spoke to SKAI about improving the image of the fire.
At this time, 320 firefighters are operating, with 13 teams of walking departments and 68 vehicles, two aircraft and four helicopters. Assistance is provided by the General Staff of the National Defense, the Greek Army, the Forestry Services of Evros, volunteer firefighters, as well as water carriers and machinery for OTA projects.
In Krestena, according to the mayor of Andritsaina-Krestena, Dionysis Baliukos, the aerial and ground firefighting operations are underway to bring the fire under control and so far things are progressing smoothly.”
“Now we are waiting to see if the winds will strengthen in our area, because, according to the meteorological forecasts, their intensity will increase in a few hours”, he added.
As the head of the fire department, Yiannis Artofios, told SKAI 100.3, there is a concern as from midday in the area where west winds of 4 to 5 Beaufort prevail, that is why the fire should be checked immediately.
Regarding the damage caused by the fire so far, Mr. Baliukos told APE-MBE that “based on the data so far, it seems that the agricultural area has been mainly affected, while there is no evidence of burnt houses so far”.
“We will see all this in detail when the fire is extinguished”, stressed the mayor of Andritsaina-Krestena.
159 firefighters with seven groups of pedestrian units and 59 vehicles are working on the front of the fire, while the mobile operational center, “Olympos”, is also located in the area. In the area there are scattered homes around the villages of Smyrna, Gryllos and Skilloundia, which are not threatened.
On Lesbos, an alarm was sounded on Monday morning, as the strengthening of the winds brought severe flare-ups.
According to the deputy regional governor in charge of civil protection, Panagiotis Koufelos, “rekindling fires due to Beaufort 7 winds are burning in the Rogada area where the fire started last Saturday and northwest of the settlement of Vrisa, but without threatening the settlement.”
Source: skai.gr