DAY 6: Rescue crews and residents of the Greek island of Evvia have been battling forest fires for six days. Photo: ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP
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Rescue crews and the inhabitants of the Greek island of Evvia are doing everything they can against the massive flames. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has received assistance from 22 countries in the firefighting work.
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For six days, forest fires have ravaged Greece’s second largest island, Evvia.
Usually the island adorns the chalk-white houses of the lush island, surrounded by the blue-green Greek sea. In summer, tourists from all over the world flock to the long sandy beaches with countless parasols.
On Saturday, residents were evacuated from the same beaches. The forest fires have put an orange blanket over the island and threaten hundreds of homes.
The Greek newspaper Kathimerini writes that the fire crews have to fight the flames all night. Just before 10 pm on Sunday, a new large forest fire broke out in Galatsona, north of the island.
1 of 11Photo: Petros Karadjias / AP
The newspaper writes that the inhabitants ran straight into the fire, in a desperate attempt to stop the flames before they took over their home.
– It will be a difficult night in Evvia, said the country’s Minister of Social Security Nikos Hardalia on Sunday night.
Controls the beaches
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has described it as “a nightmare summer” and says the first priority is to save lives.
More than 1000 inhabitants has been evacuated by ferry from the island of Evvia on Friday, while nearly 500 firefighters worked to fight the raging forest fires.
Thousands have now had to leave their homes.
Watch the video from the evacuation on Saturday:
Kathimerini writes that boats from the Coast Guard patrol the beaches in north-eastern Evvia to pick up people from the beaches.
During Sunday, 23 people were evacuated from various beaches.
Forest fires in several areas
In the region of Attikí, where the capital Athens is located, the situation has improved during Sunday. But Minister of Social Security Nikos Hardalias warns that there is a great risk that forest fires will flare up.
Throughout the night, the police, fire brigade and volunteers will patrol and monitor the fire areas.
The Ilía area experienced how quickly fires can flare up. But the fire brigade quickly managed to put out the forest fires again.
Hazard category 4, which corresponds to “very high risk of fire”, is unoccupied in seven regions on Monday:
- Region Attikí
- Central Greece (Evvia)
- Crete
- North Aegean Sea (Chios, Samos, Ikaria)
- South Aegean (Rhodes, Karpathos, Kos, Kalymnod)
- The Ionian Islands (Kefalonia, Ithaca, Zakynthos)
- Region Vest-Hellas (Ilía, Akhaia)
Several arrested
On Saturday afternoon, a man was arrested for attempted arson in Greece, according to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini. The 38-year-old man was arrested in Attikí and is referred to as a foreign national.
Atticí police have patrolled several areas to prevent arson.
The newspaper writes that the 38-year-old was taken with a backpack, which he tried to hide from the police.
In the backpack, the police found several objects they believe could be used to start a fire.
According to the newspaper, the residents of Attikí have been asked to report suspicious behavior to prevent arson. Within 24 hours, the police received reports of 19 suspects – all of whom are now out of custody.
Greek police have previously arrested a 47-year-old man who had set fire to several rubbish bins, three young Greek men who tried to set fire to some trees and a 71-year-old man who is suspected of trying to set fire to parts of a forest.
Get help
While the fire is raging, Greece has received help from 22 countries in the extinguishing work.
– On behalf of the Greek people, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the countries that have sent aid and resources to fight the fires. We thank you for standing by Greece in these difficult times, the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter late Sunday night.
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