In Greece, firefighters tackle a blaze in the Geraneia mountains

Fire troopers have been fighting a blaze for three days in the Geraneia Protected Natural Habitat Area, west of Athens. This is the first major fire of the year in Greece, already described as“Immense ecological catastrophe” by experts, as written in “a” Saturday, May 22 the newspaper Avghi. No casualties have been reported yet, but around ten homes have been damaged and destroyed.

More than 270 firefighters, supported by sixteen aircraft were still deployed on Saturday, assisted by the army, according to the fire services, which remain cautious of possible resumption of fire in these steep mountains. Because if the improvement of the weather conditions made it possible to control the main fire front, Friday evening, “There are still several scattered active foci” in the mountain range of Geraneia, north of the Isthmus of Corinth, according to firefighters. This is “One of the biggest fires of the last twenty, thirty years, to occur this month, so early in the season”, lamented their leader, Stefanos Kolokouris, on the ANT1 television channel.

A firefighting plane drops water on forest fires near the village of Alepochori, Greece, May 20, 2021.

Birds, turtles, hedgehogs, wild boars … charred

As soon as the disaster, which left the coast of the Gulf of Corinth on Wednesday evening, will be completely under control, the extent of the damage will be assessed, civil protection assured. The dense pine forest, which was until now preserved, burned at 54%, according to Avghi, daily left. In addition, 6.1% of the massif belonged to areas protected by the Natura 2000 network, which brings together natural or semi-natural sites in the European Union, with exceptional flora and fauna.

On the spot, volunteers from animal rights associations tried as early as Friday 21, to come to the aid of injured, burned or dehydrated animals by providing them with first aid, water and food. According to the Caesar’s Paradise collective, birds, turtles, hedgehogs, wild boars, but also stray dogs and cats, were found charred.

“The flames burned over 55 km2 of pine forests ”, deplores Euthymios Lekkas, professor of environmental disaster management at the University of Athens. He spoke on the public channel ERT:

This is a huge ecological disaster, which will require work to prevent landslides and terrible floods in the fall. “

Every summer, Greece faces severe forest fires, fueled by drought, strong winds and temperatures often exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. It can be both natural and criminal fires – with a view to real estate speculation – or due to negligence, in the event of scrapping or fires of waste or branches in the fields.

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The World with AFP