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ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Fires burning for over a week that caused Greece’s worst ecological disaster in decades were finally placed under control Friday, the fire department said. “As of yesterday, there is no major active front, just scattered pockets,” a fire department spokesman told AFP. Rain and falling temperatures helped the fire-dousing effort, but crews remain on alert for possible flare-ups in hard-to-access ravines on the island of Evia and in the region of […]
by Yannick Pasquet ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Rain overnight in wildfire-ravaged areas of Greece have helped “improve the situation” on Thursday, a local mayor said, but hundreds of firefighters were still battling to contain new flare-ups. Fires fanned by Greece’s most severe heatwave in decades — which authorities have blamed on climate change — have burnt through nearly 100,000 hectares over the last fortnight, leaving three dead, hundreds homeless, thousands forced to evacuate, and economic […]
by Alexandros KOTTIS PAPPADES, Greece (AFP) — Stunned, Kostis Angelou wanders between the corpses of his goats, all 372 of them burnt by a fire that devoured forests on Evia island in Greece. “I’m lost,” he sighs, “I can’t take it anymore.” The goats lie on the two flanks of a hill blackened by the blaze that burnt for more than a week in the north of Greece’s second biggest island. Up there, in the […]
ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Hundreds of firefighters were battling to control two massive wildfires in Greece on Wednesday, one raging for nine straight days, that have left hundreds homeless and caused incalculable damage. With the assistance of a huge multinational force, Greek fire crews were fighting to beat back blazes on the island of Evia and in the Peloponnese peninsula in rugged terrain. “I think we can say that the fire fronts are slowly coming […]
by Alexandros Kottis with John Hadoulis in Athens AVGARIA, Greece (AFP) — Backed by a huge multinational force, Greek firefighters on Tuesday struggled for an eighth day to control wildfires on the island of Evia that have caused massive damage, prompting an apology from the prime minister. Nearly 900 firefighters, reinforced overnight with fresh arrivals from abroad, were deployed on the country’s second largest island as major towns and resorts remained under threat. Most of […]
by Alexandros KOTTIS with Katerina NIKOLOPOULOU in Athens GOUVES, Greece (AFP) — Hundreds of Greek islanders packed up their belongings and fled their homes on the Greek island of Evia on Sunday as wildfires continued to rage after a record heatwave. Greece and neighbouring Turkey have been battling the devastating fires for nearly two weeks, with 10 people confirmed dead and dozens needing hospital treatment. While rain brought some respite from the blazes in Turkey […]
Hundreds of firefighters fought fires that have devoured record numbers of woodlands in Greece on Saturday and left hundreds of families homeless, but heavy rains brought respite to hard-hit Turkey. More than 1,450 Greek firefighters backed by at least 15 aircraft were battling the blazes, with reinforcements arriving from abroad, the fire service said. In Pefkofyto, in the north of Athens, pensioner Tasos Tsilivakos struggled to contain his tears. “This is a horrible disaster,” he […]
by AFP bureaus ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Hundreds of firefighters battled a blaze on the outskirts of Athens on Friday as dozens of fires raged in Greece in what the prime minister dubbed a “critical situation,” while neighboring Turkey came under increasing pressure over its handling of wildfires. Greece and Turkey have been fighting blaze upon blaze over the past week, hit by the worst heatwave in decades, a disaster that officials and experts have […]
by Marina RAFENBERG ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — At least 150 houses were destroyed by a raging fire that surrounded a monastery and a dozen villages on the Greek island of Evia Wednesday, one of over 100 blazes burning in the country. Firefighters were also battling a blaze near Athens, while the mayor of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, pleaded for help as flames threatened the site. The blazes erupted as Greece is in […]
VARYMPOMPI, Greece (AFP) — Greek firefighters said Wednesday that they hope to bring a forest fire blazing near Athens under control “in the coming hours”. “The situation has improved and we hope to bring the fire under control in the coming hours,” the fire service said in a statement. More than 500 firefighters, a dozen water-bombing planes and five helicopters have been battling the blazes outside the capital since Tuesday afternoon. Around a dozen houses […]
ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Greece is suffering its worst heatwave since 1987, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned on Monday, as forecasters said temperatures could hit 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) later. The intense heat has helped fan wildfires that have destroyed more than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of pine and olive groves in the country’s west since Saturday. © Agence France-Presse
by Raziye AKKOC with AFP bureaus ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Dozens of villages were evacuated in tourist hotspots in southern Turkey on Sunday as wildfires that have claimed eight lives raged for a fifth day, while blazes also hit Greece, Italy and Spain. Fanned by soaring temperatures and strong winds — with experts saying that climate change increases both the frequency and intensity of such blazes — this year’s fire season has been significantly more […]
