Housekeeper Arrested Over Wildfire That Scorched Greek Island
A 35-year-old housekeeper was arrested in Greece on Tuesday in connection with devastating wildfires that tore across the island of Chios this week, officials said.
'She'd been smoking,' Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis, the spokesman of the Hellenic Fire Service said of the housekeeper, who he said was a Georgian woman.
Five blazes, the first of which broke out on Sunday, collectively consumed more than 11,000 acres of the island.
A news release from the fire service said a foreign woman had been arrested on the north of the island, near where the last of the fires sprang up on Monday.
The blazes razed huge swaths of the island's forestland, forcing the evacuation of more than a dozen villages. Firefighters from across the country were rushed to the island on planes and ferries to battle the blaze; more than 400 were eventually deployed.
As Greece approaches its summer wildfire season, the Chios fire was a reminder of a grim reality for the nation, where furious wildfires have become a regular part of life, especially as climate change has made the country hotter and drier.
Chios is one of the largest islands in the Aegean Sea, known for resin-producing mastic trees which hardly grow anywhere else in the world. Used for things like pharmaceuticals, beauty products and liquor, the trees are a critical driver for the local economy, and a draw for tourists. While not as popular as some other Greek islands, Chios sees an influx of visitors during the summer months, also the height of wildfire season.
The trees have been periodically threatened by wildfires on the island, including in 2012, when a wildfire destroyed more than half of the island's mastic tree population, causing a global shortage of the valuable resin.
The fires this week damaged some of the island's trees, according to local media, but did not burn the southern part of the island, where the majority of the mastic trees grow. Three of the blazes started on Sunday; another two began on Monday amid sweltering, windy conditions. Firefighters had contained most of the fires by Thursday, as winds calmed.
Soon after the fires began spreading on Sunday, fire officials deployed investigators from the fire service's Directorate for Combating Arson Crimes. The scope of the fires, and their presence in multiple, unconnected areas of the island, suggested to officials that they did not begin naturally.
'We will not hide behind words: When fires break out simultaneously in such scattered locations, we must speak of suspicious activity,' said Giannis Kefalogiannis, the country's Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, in a Greek-language statement on Monday.
Niki Kitsantonis and Matina Stevis-Gridneff contributed reporting.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
Wildfire prompts evacuations near Athens as summer's first heat wave hits Greece
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A large wildfire broke out south of Athens on Thursday, triggering authorities to issue evacuation orders and shut down parts of the coastal road linking the Greek capital to Sounion, location of the ancient Temple of Poseidon, a major tourist attraction. The fire came as temperatures approached 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in Greece's first heatwave of the summer. 'Right now, strong land and air forces are fighting a huge battle against the flames, mainly among homes,' fire department spokesman Col. Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said during a press briefing Thursday afternoon. Twelve water-dropping planes and 12 helicopters were providing air support to 130 firefighters, backed up by volunteer firefighters in the Palaia Fokaia seaside area south of Athens, Vathrakogiannis said. A coast guard firefighting vessel doused the flames from the sea. The fire, which reportedly broke out within a populated area, was fanned by strong winds that frequently changed direction, sending plumes of smoke fanning out across the sky. Television footage showed at least one home burning. Local mayor Dimitris Loukas said on Greece's state-run ERT television that several houses were believed to have been damaged by the blaze, but added that exact information on property destruction was not immediately available. The coast guard said two patrol boats and nine private vessels were on standby in the Palaia Fokaia area in case an evacuation by sea became necessary. Ambulances were also on standby but had not been required by Thursday afternoon, authorities said. 'We're telling people to leave their homes,' local town councilor Apostolos Papadakis said on Greece's state-run ERT television. Parts of the coastal road connecting Athens to Sounion were closed in both directions, with people urged to take alternate routes to leave the area. Fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said 40 people had been evacuated by police, while evacuation orders were issued for a total of five areas. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but the fire department spokesman said that an arson investigation unit had been sent to the area. The entire wider Athens area, as well as several Aegean islands, were on Level 4 of a 5-level scale for the danger of wildfires due to the weather conditions, with the heatwave expected to last until the weekend. Earlier in the week, hundreds of firefighters took four days to bring a major wildfire under control on the eastern Aegean island of Chios. More than a dozen evacuation orders had been issued for Chios, where the flames devoured forest and farmland. The fire department said one woman had been arrested on suspicion of having contributed to that fire's start — reportedly by discarding a cigarette. Wildfires are frequent in Greece during its hot, dry summers. In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee. More than 100 died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.
Business Insider
16 hours ago
- Business Insider
I've taken my child to 20 countries. I always follow these 8 rules to make sure a trip goes smoothly.
I've been taking my kids on international trips with me since they were toddlers. Right now, I average three to four trips a year with at least one of my children. For a smooth trip, I always download regional ride-share apps ahead of time and stick to carry-ons. Traveling is my favorite activity, so it's important to me that my two kids — who are 7 and 14 years old — get to experience the world, too. My kids have traveled with me since they were toddlers, and I average three to four trips a year with at least one of my children. Over the years, I've picked up a lot of tips for kid-friendly travel. Now, I make sure to follow these eight rules to ensure everything goes smoothly and everyone has a great time. I make local transportation part of the adventure. When it comes to hotels and lodging, location is everything. We always try to choose a hotel with proximity to public transportation. Not only is it important to be able to get to all the spots we want to see, but also my kids enjoy the novelty of trains, subways, ferries, and buses. They loved taking the tube in London, the bullet trains in Japan, and the ferries on the Greek islands. For this reason, I always find lodging within walking distance of public transportation. In Amsterdam, we even stayed in the Red Light District because its proximity to the train station let us take easy day trips to Giethoorn and Zaanse Schans. We never rely just on Uber, and always research ride-share apps ahead of time. Although public transit is ideal, having a backup mode of transportation is crucial in case of emergency. Uber is available in over 15,000 cities worldwide, but not everywhere. In some countries, tourists can use Uber, but local alternatives are more reliable and affordable. Ahead of a trip, I make sure to research country-specific ride-hailing apps and download whichever ones are popular locally to have as backup. Whenever possible, we opt for local theme parks and museums over global franchises. To avoid massive crowds, I'll typically avoid global sites and popular spots from big franchises (like Disney parks) when I travel with my kids. Instead, we try opting for local amusement parks and museums, which we've found to be a little less crowded. On our various trips, we've visited Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, Brussels' Choco-Story museum, the Historium Brugge in Bruges, Puerto Plata's Monkeyland, and Seoul's many pet cafés. We make it a point to learn key phrases ahead of time. In the weeks leading up to a trip, I'll download a language-specific learning app to learn (and teach my kids!) local phrases and questions we might find ourselves asking. Recently, we discovered HelloChinese for Mandarin; previously, we've had luck just using YouTube videos to learn Korean. Duolingo works here, too. Although I encourage my kids to try new things, I don't say no to comforts from home. Instead of hopping from hotel to hotel, we set up a base camp and do day trips. I always like to pick a single hotel as a "base camp" from which we take all our day trips. This helps us avoid the hassle of re-packing and often has the added bonus of allowing for the most cost-efficient modes of transportation, like budget airlines that only allow a personal item. For example, when we visited Athens, we planned a day trip to Santorini. It took under an hour to fly there via a budget airline, and even though we just spent a day on the island, the trip turned into one of my children's fondest memories. We prioritize minimalist packing to avoid checking bags — and, thereby, limit souvenirs. Checking a suitcase can get expensive, and I also get nervous about losing my luggage. So, I never check anything, only travel with a roller carry-on and backpack, and wear any necessary outerwear while boarding the plane. Not only does this trick save money and assuage my anxiety, but it also helps me put a limit on the number of souvenirs my kids can buy. After all, they can only fit so much in their carry-ons. Now that my son is older, I let him play a role in creating an itinerary. When my kids were young, I did all the planning. Since my older son became a teen, though, I've involved him in the itinerary. I'll set the budget and scope of the trip, but ask him to do some research on where we should go. After a childhood spent seeing castles in Europe, his last two picks included a weeklong Caribbean cruise and a string of trips across Asia — over the past year, we've visited Japan, Korea, and China, and next month, we'll be traveling to Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. Including him in the process has helped me ensure we'll both have a great time — and it's passed on to him the same passion I have for discovering the world, one trip at a time.
New York Times
19 hours ago
- New York Times
Housekeeper Arrested Over Wildfire That Scorched Greek Island
A 35-year-old housekeeper was arrested in Greece on Tuesday in connection with devastating wildfires that tore across the island of Chios this week, officials said. 'She'd been smoking,' Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis, the spokesman of the Hellenic Fire Service said of the housekeeper, who he said was a Georgian woman. Five blazes, the first of which broke out on Sunday, collectively consumed more than 11,000 acres of the island. A news release from the fire service said a foreign woman had been arrested on the north of the island, near where the last of the fires sprang up on Monday. The blazes razed huge swaths of the island's forestland, forcing the evacuation of more than a dozen villages. Firefighters from across the country were rushed to the island on planes and ferries to battle the blaze; more than 400 were eventually deployed. As Greece approaches its summer wildfire season, the Chios fire was a reminder of a grim reality for the nation, where furious wildfires have become a regular part of life, especially as climate change has made the country hotter and drier. Chios is one of the largest islands in the Aegean Sea, known for resin-producing mastic trees which hardly grow anywhere else in the world. Used for things like pharmaceuticals, beauty products and liquor, the trees are a critical driver for the local economy, and a draw for tourists. While not as popular as some other Greek islands, Chios sees an influx of visitors during the summer months, also the height of wildfire season. The trees have been periodically threatened by wildfires on the island, including in 2012, when a wildfire destroyed more than half of the island's mastic tree population, causing a global shortage of the valuable resin. The fires this week damaged some of the island's trees, according to local media, but did not burn the southern part of the island, where the majority of the mastic trees grow. Three of the blazes started on Sunday; another two began on Monday amid sweltering, windy conditions. Firefighters had contained most of the fires by Thursday, as winds calmed. Soon after the fires began spreading on Sunday, fire officials deployed investigators from the fire service's Directorate for Combating Arson Crimes. The scope of the fires, and their presence in multiple, unconnected areas of the island, suggested to officials that they did not begin naturally. 'We will not hide behind words: When fires break out simultaneously in such scattered locations, we must speak of suspicious activity,' said Giannis Kefalogiannis, the country's Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, in a Greek-language statement on Monday. Niki Kitsantonis and Matina Stevis-Gridneff contributed reporting.
