Greek firefighters yesterday battled to bring under control two major fires raging near Olympia and on the island of Evia.
More than 170 firefighters, about 50 trucks, six helicopters and water-bombing planes were deployed near the ancient archeological site, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, on the Peloponnese Peninsula.
After destroying about 20 houses, “the fire’s front is now heading towards Lalas,” a wooded mountainous area to the northwest of Olympia, local official Nektarios Farmakis told the Athens News Agency (ANA).
Photo: AP
Olympia, usually thronging with tourists at this time of year, as well as six nearby villages, were evacuated the day before.
A similar number of firefighters were also battling to contain a blaze on Evia, about 200km east of Athens.
At least 150 houses were destroyed on the island as the fire surrounded a monastery and a dozen villages.
Two more villages were evacuated early yesterday, ANA reported.
Mantoudi Mayor Giannis Tsapourniotis said that the fire was moving on four fronts, with one particularly difficult to control near the Saint David Monastery, which was evacuated on Wednesday.
Strong winds yesterday made it difficult for firefighting aircraft to reach the blazes, with poor visibility due to the thick smoke, ANA said.
The fire brigade said that it had dealt with 92 forest fires over the previous 24 hours, on top of the 118 from the day before.
“We’re waging a battle of the titans,” Greek Deputy Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias told journalists. “The hardest is still to come.”
Turkey is also battling its worst fires in at least a decade, with eight people killed and hundreds evacuated in southern areas.
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