Disastrous Greek Wildfires Brought Under Control

Fueled by high temperatures and strong winds, the fires burned across thousands of hectares of forest, agricultural land and pasture just north of the Greek capital since Friday, destroying about 150 homes. No casualties are reported.

An inferno swept a suburb of Athens early Sunday, forcing 10,000 people to flee their homes. Many residents who evacuated were allowed to return late Monday, as firefighters struggled to bring the blazes under control under a thick blanket of smoke.

Stavros Dimas, European commissioner for environment and civil protection, was born and raised in Greece. "The forest fires near Athens are creating an ecological disaster," he said. "It is imperative to bring them under control as quickly as possible."

A blanket of smoke looms over Athens. August 22, 2009 (Photo by RS Kari)

A state of emergency was declared on Saturday as Greece requested assistance from other European Union countries in dealing with the forest fires.

Italy, France, Spain and Cyprus sent aircraft in response to Greece's request. More planes are expected today from Spain and Turkey to help the firefighters and soldiers battling the flames.

In addition, the EU forest fire tactical reserve is being deployed to fill gaps in aerial fire-fighting capacity.

Dimas said that it was the biggest coordinated emergency operation this year.

"The assistance offered by EU Member States via the Civil Protection Mechanism shows the strength of European solidarity in the face of such disasters," the commissioner said. "It is a practical example of European added value in responding to natural disasters like forest fires. The European reserve of forest fire fighting aircraft is also making a significant contribution to the fire-fighting efforts in Greece."

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis chaired an emergency meeting on Sunday morning. A statement following the meeting said securing life and property is the first order of business for firefighters and emergency response crews.

Karamanlis, who heads a Conservative government with a narrow margin, felt the anger of many Greeks who said the government responded too slowly to the wildfires, allowing them to burn out of control. Criticism of the government's response mounted Tuesday from newspaper editorials, mayors of towns and villages affected by the blazes and opposition politicians.

Smoke plume from the Athens fires extends more than a hundred kilometers (60 miles) over the Aegean Sea in this image from space. (Image by Jeff Schmaltz MODIS Rapid Response at NASA GSFC)

Forest fires are common during Greece's hot, dry summers where temperatures can soar to over 40 degrees Celsius, but these are the worst fires since 2007 when fires set by arsonists left 76 people dead and thousands of people homeless.

As winds eased off today, the fires began to respond to the firefighting effort. In Grammatikos, where the biggest fire began on Friday, the flames have been extinguished.

Fire officials said only three planes and one helicopter are working the fires now as compared to the 19 planes that were in the air on Monday.

Some 500 firefighters and 300 soldiers are still on guard in the area northeast of Athens to prevent any new fires from breaking out.

Only two fires are still burning - one northwest of Athens near the coastal town of Karathina and Porto Germano and the other to the east near the village of Karisto on Evia island.

But the damage will last for decades. The fire spread over Mount Penteli on the northern edge of Athens, which has been burned beyond hope for natural regrowth, experts said.

Fire officials have not said what caused the wildfires, but many Greeks suspect arson.

Harry Tszanis of the Athens News Agency said, "This is not a completely natural disaster, we had 83 wildfires reported in one day alone, people are starting those wildfires, taking advantage of the gusty winds and the dry conditions."

Greenpeace Greece blames the fires on, "Arson, human negligence, political incompetence, inadequate infrastructure and equipment, lack of information, and climate change..."

Copyright Environment News Service, ENS, 2009. All rights reserved.