Latest news with #PalaiaFokaia
The Australian
3 days ago
- Climate
- The Australian
Greeks count cost of wildfire 'tragedy' near Athens
In the municipality of Palaia Fokaia, an hour's drive south of Athens, a typical bucolic Greek landscape of olive groves and hamlets was transformed by a raging Friday wildfire into a dystopia of blackened land and incinerated homes. A howling wind ripped through the settlement on Saturday, spread dust and the bitter smell of ash coming from the surrounding hills, where fires and smouldering embers continued to burn. The ground shuddered as low-flying helicopters and water bombers weaved through the steep terrain to release water onto the remaining blazes and retrieve sea water. Hours earlier, over 200 firefighters had battled to keep the fire that erupted in the rural region of Keratea, some 43 kilometres (27 miles) southeast of Athens, from threatening the coastal resorts dotting the coast of Attica. At one gutted home -- its caved-in roof nothing more than a tangle of warped metal -- mask-wearing residents returned to retrieve whatever belongings survived the inferno. A despondent woman named Dimitria was more fortunate: the flames spared her home but razed the nearest forest, leaving it a desolate terrain of roasted trees and ash. "From yesterday night, there were very few reinforcements from the fire brigade," she lamented, describing how help arrived after the advancing fire threatened "many houses" near the forest. "My house is OK, but my forest is burned. And that is the pity," she said with a trembling voice, her eyes welling up as she left to survey the damage. Firefighters with hoses combed through a copse of trees to douse any embers and prevent reactivations, scorched twigs and debris crunching under their boots. - 'We knew it was dangerous' - Observing them from his unscathed house was a relieved Kostas Triadis. Despite the damage dealt to the landscape, he hailed the work of firemen and volunteers, "otherwise it would be very bad." "It is regenerated by itself, I hope it will be the natural future," the 75-year-old added, referring to the devastated vegetation. "It is a very good, small forest, we always knew it was dangerous." His wife Eleni, 71, added that "everybody did their utmost to save the area, but the real tragedy is that the forest is lost. It was very old." But she pointed to the many trees that were relatively unharmed because the fire burned itself out quickly in the short grass that residents had cut in June. "It's a tragedy, it's the first time the fire has come here," she said of the area, where the couple spend the summer months away from their Athens residence. A short distance away on the coast, the contrast could not be starker: beachgoers ambled on the sand and swam in the shimmering Mediterranean on a seemingly normal balmy summer morning. But the signs of the emergency were unmistakeable as beachside diners were greeted with the spectacle of water bombers skimming the water to refill and return to the raging fires. imm/jph/giv
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Greeks count cost of wildfire 'tragedy' near Athens
In the municipality of Palaia Fokaia, an hour's drive south of Athens, a typical bucolic Greek landscape of olive groves and hamlets was transformed by a raging Friday wildfire into a dystopia of blackened land and incinerated homes. A howling wind ripped through the settlement on Saturday, spread dust and the bitter smell of ash coming from the surrounding hills, where fires and smouldering embers continued to burn. The ground shuddered as low-flying helicopters and water bombers weaved through the steep terrain to release water onto the remaining blazes and retrieve sea water. Hours earlier, over 200 firefighters had battled to keep the fire that erupted in the rural region of Keratea, some 43 kilometres (27 miles) southeast of Athens, from threatening the coastal resorts dotting the coast of Attica. At one gutted home -- its caved-in roof nothing more than a tangle of warped metal -- mask-wearing residents returned to retrieve whatever belongings survived the inferno. A despondent woman named Dimitria was more fortunate: the flames spared her home but razed the nearest forest, leaving it a desolate terrain of roasted trees and ash. "From yesterday night, there were very few reinforcements from the fire brigade," she lamented, describing how help arrived after the advancing fire threatened "many houses" near the forest. "My house is OK, but my forest is burned. And that is the pity," she said with a trembling voice, her eyes welling up as she left to survey the damage. Firefighters with hoses combed through a copse of trees to douse any embers and prevent reactivations, scorched twigs and debris crunching under their boots. - 'We knew it was dangerous' - Observing them from his unscathed house was a relieved Kostas Triadis. Despite the damage dealt to the landscape, he hailed the work of firemen and volunteers, "otherwise it would be very bad." "It is regenerated by itself, I hope it will be the natural future," the 75-year-old added, referring to the devastated vegetation. "It is a very good, small forest, we always knew it was dangerous." His wife Eleni, 71, added that "everybody did their utmost to save the area, but the real tragedy is that the forest is lost. It was very old." But she pointed to the many trees that were relatively unharmed because the fire burned itself out quickly in the short grass that residents had cut in June. "It's a tragedy, it's the first time the fire has come here," she said of the area, where the couple spend the summer months away from their Athens residence. A short distance away on the coast, the contrast could not be starker: beachgoers ambled on the sand and swam in the shimmering Mediterranean on a seemingly normal balmy summer morning. But the signs of the emergency were unmistakeable as beachside diners were greeted with the spectacle of water bombers skimming the water to refill and return to the raging fires. imm/jph/giv
Asharq Al-Awsat
27-06-2025
- Climate
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Forest Fire Near Athens Under Control, But Area on High Alert
Greek firefighters said Friday that a forest blaze that had forced evacuations around Athens was under control, but warned that scorching temperatures were keeping fire risk at a highly elevated level around the capital and on northern Aegean islands. Greece has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to fires in the summer fueled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change. The fire around Athens broke on Thursday afternoon near the towns of Palaia Fokaia and Thymari, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Athens, and forced the evacuation of five villages popular with local and foreign tourists, AFP reported. Though it was under control on Friday, a volatile combination of high temperatures and strong winds meant that a high risk of other fires breaking out remained, especially in the Attica region around the Greek capital and some islands in the north Aegean Sea, authorities said. A spokesman for the fire service told AFP that over 100 firefighters with 37 vehicles and a helicopter were on standby near Palaia Fokaia and Thymari. Fields, olive groves and some houses were ravaged by the blaze. The blaze came on the heels of another fire on the island of Chios -- Greece's fifth-largest island -- which had destroyed more than 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) of land in four days. Weather agencies forecast a heatwave in the coming days with temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), including in the capital Athens.
Arab News
27-06-2025
- Climate
- Arab News
Forest fire near Athens under control, but area on high alert
ATHENS: Greek firefighters said Friday that a forest blaze that had forced evacuations around Athens was under control, but warned that scorching temperatures were keeping fire risk at a highly elevated level around the capital and on northern Aegean islands. Greece has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to fires in the summer fueled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change. The fire around Athens broke on Thursday afternoon near the towns of Palaia Fokaia and Thymari, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Athens, and forced the evacuation of five villages popular with local and foreign tourists. Though it was under control on Friday, a volatile combination of high temperatures and strong winds meant that a high risk of other fires breaking out remained, especially in the Attica region around the Greek capital and some islands in the north Aegean Sea, authorities said. A spokesman for the fire service told AFP that over 100 firefighters with 37 vehicles and a helicopter were on standby near Palaia Fokaia and Thymari. Fields, olive groves and some houses were ravaged by the blaze. The blaze came on the heels of another fire on the island of Chios — Greece's fifth-largest island — which had destroyed more than 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) of land in four days. Weather agencies forecast a heatwave in the coming days with temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), including in the capital Athens.
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Dozens evacuated as forest fire rages near Athens
A violent forest fire devastated several seaside towns east of Athens on Thursday, damaging homes and prompting dozens of evacuations in a popular destination for Greek and foreign tourists. The fire broke around 12.30pm local time (9.30am UK time) near the towns of Palaia Fokaia and Thymari, around 30 miles east of Athens, and forced the evacuation of five villages, according to Greek firefighters. It comes on the heels of another fire on the island of Chios - Greece 's fifth-largest island - which as of Wednesday had destroyed more than 10,000 acres of land in four days. 'Ground and aerial forces are waging an enormous battle against the flames,' said fire service spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, adding that around 130 firefighters as well as volunteers were fighting the blaze, and around a dozen planes and helicopters had been deployed. 'This is a difficult fire fuelled by strong winds,' another fire service official told AFP. Kostas Tsiguas, president of the firefighters' union, said at least 50 people had been evacuated so far. Temperatures reached up to 40 degrees Celsius in the Athens region on Thursday, with forecasts indicating that the heatwave could continue until Saturday. In the past 24 hours, 45 fires had broken out in Greece, firefighters said. 'Residents told us the fire started because of a spark from a faulty electric cable,' he told national TV. Greece has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to fires in summer fuelled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change. Earlier this week, hundreds of firefighters backed up by aircraft were battling a wildfire burning out of control for the third day on the Greek island of Chios after authorities declared a state of emergency. Towering walls of flames tore through forest and agricultural land on the island, where authorities have sent firefighting reinforcements from Athens, the northern city of Thessaloniki and the nearby island of Lesbos. By Tuesday morning, the fire department said 444 firefighters with 85 vehicles were tackling the blaze on scattered fronts. Eleven helicopters and two water-dropping planes were providing air support. Emergency services have issued evacuation orders for villages and settlements in the area since Sunday, when fires broke out near the island's main town. Apocalyptic scenes captured in images and videos showed firefighters battling the flames as the wildfires raged on, while thick plumes of black smoke filled the sky. Other footage showed helicopters spraying water over smoke-filled fields. The fire department has sent an arson investigation team to Chios to examine the cause of the blaze. 'We are faced with simultaneous fires in multiple, geographically unconnected parts of the island - a pattern that cannot be considered coincidental,' Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis said Monday from Chios. Authorities, he said, were 'very seriously examining the possibility of an organized criminal act, in other words arson.' The minister said police forces on the island had been reinforced, while military patrols had been doubled.
