Μajor wildfires hit the country

A fire storm with 102 fire sources has blazed across the country, from Evros  to the Peloponnese.

Approximately 50,000 acres of forest have been burnt in some of the most beautiful areas of the country. Residents of villages in Arcadia have already fled their homes, while fire-fighting forces from EU countries are coming to assist their Greek colleagues.

Analytically:

Evros
For the third day a large fire is raging out of control in the Evros region.

The fire has so far incinerated more than 47,000 acres of forest.

Late Friday afternoon, the fire threatened the first houses of Koila village, which has been evacuated, while another front erupted in the area of Kavisou, threatening the military camp in the area, as well as the park of Agia Paraskevi in Feres. In both cases, there was a concerted response from fire-fighting services, preventing the fire from spreading.

The flaming fronts range between the areas of Koila, Kavisos, Kitrinopetra and Lefkimi, while crews and equipment are involved in drilling firebreaks to limit expansion to the north.

Three Canadair fire-fighting airplanes and three helicopters were added to the fire fighting force since early Friday  afternoon as well as two fire boats from France, which took part in the operations.

Meawhile, Prime Minister George Papandreou visited the coordinating center of Fire Fighters in Halandri, accompanied by the Secretary of Citizen Protection, Christos Papoutsis.

Arcadia
Because of the large and uncontrolled fires posing an immediate danger to the life and property of citizens, local communities such as Papari, Agriakona, Daphne, and Kaltezas Mavroyiannis in Valtetsi, belonging the municipality of Tripoli, were  proclaimed to be in a state of emergency after the decision of the Secretary-General for Civil Protection Theodore Buffis, at the request of Mayor of Tripoli, John Smirniotis, and the general secretary of the decentralized administration of Peloponnese - West. Greece and the Ionian, Tasos Apostolopoulos.

The fire has caused problems in the provision of electricity, while the PPC has interrupted the supply of power to the affected areas for safety reasons.

The municipality of Tripoli wishes to inform the affected citizens that hotels in town have been alerted and are ready to accommodate people whose homes were damaged by fire, while the town hall is open on 43 Antistaseos street in order to assist and guide the affected citizens.

In Amfissa, the fire is burning forest land around the area of Malandrino, where the forces operating include 25 firefighters, 11 vehicles, 1 group of hiker fire-fighters. During  the day, 1 helicopter and 2 aircraft were also operating in the area..

Patras
A major fire that broke out Friday afternoon near the industrial area of Patras, near the communities Chaikalis and Peristeri, is in progress.

The flames in the village of Chaikali, burned two houses and a chapel and caused extensive damage to crops. Apostolos Katsifaras and Mayor of Dyme Andreas Panagioropoulos rushed to the spot, to provide support to residents.

Two firefighters miraculously survived when their vehicle was engulfed in flames and they found themselves trapped. Panic ensued momentarily, but after a few minutes the firefighters were saved with the help of their colleagues, and are in good health.

Winds are still blowing strong in the industrial area. The fire is under control, but a resurgence is feared. Flames “licked” the backyards of many homes while residents have nothing else to do but count their losses.

Meanwhile, smaller-scale fires erupted earlier in the areas of Sychena and Bozaitika, Patras, but were quickly brought under control.

Missolonghi
The provice of Iera Polis, Missolonghi, was declared in a state of emergency after the request submitted by the municipality because of the catastrophic fires already raging in the municipal area of Evinochorio and St. Thomas.

Messinia
At noon on Friday, a fire broke out in Metaxada, Messinia, but populated areas were not threatened.

Fokida
In Maladrino, flames reached the outer walls of the local detention facility. Fire-fighting forces found an ally in the wind, which changed direction and prevented the possibility of the fire extending into the prison.

In parallel, two other fire fronts moved menacingly towards the villages of Sotaina, Braila and Amigdalia. Shortly before 9 pm flames passed near the village of Sotaina, but the risk is still present concerning the villages of Braila and Amigdalia, while the possibility of evacuating the settlements still remains open.

Zakynthos
The fire that  has been scorching the Zakynthos woodland area of Orthonies is still ongoing, while nine firefighters in three vehicles are still combating it. During the day, two aircraft and one helicopter were also operating in the region.

Crete
The alarm was sounded by a fire which broke out shortly before 1 pm around Falassarna in the region after Platanos, Chania.

The mobilization of the Fire Department was immediate, since a taverna was situated near where the fire occurred, and strong winds blowing in the area made it spread rapidly.

Ten vehicles with 20 men and one dismounted unit with 10 men were rushed to the point, while a firefighting helicopter stationed in Heraklion was immediately flown over to take part in the operation (the fire-fighting helicopter stationed in Chania had already been sent to a great fire in Zakynthos).

Around 2:45 pm, the fire was brought under partial control, having burned a total of about 25 acres of woodland and 10 acres of grassland.

According to preliminary information, the fire was caused by arson through negligence and the responsibility lies with an individual who set fire to trash, which consequently led to the fire getting out of control due to the strong winds.

Nafpaktos
The great fire in Gavrolimni, Nafpaktos, is also in progress, while the fires in Fities and Stanos have been brought under control.

Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki was also threatened by fire, as an afternoon fire broke out in the woods of Sheikh Sou, under the ring road, within walking distance of the village of 40 Ekklisies, The fire was immediately controlled.

However, a second front appeared later, above the road, on the ridge of the Sheikh Sou forest, but this was also quickly controlled.

Earlier on Friday, there were problems on the ring road caused by drivers who were surprised by the dense smoke, which is why police cars are stopping traffic around Stavroupolis and Konstantinoupolitika to facilitate the passage of firefighting vehicles.

Attica
The Friday afternoon fire on the forested land in Plaka Keratea, Attica, was quickly brought under control.

The fire that broke out at 04:30 am in Parnitha has also been put out. Firefighters are on site in case of a rekindling of the flames.

In terms of the fire front in Ano Glyfada, it was brought under control shortly after 9 am.