Greek firefighters were fighting on Wednesday to contain the massive fire that has ravaged for over 30 hours one of the best preserved huts of wildlife in Greece, on the island of Euboea.
"It is a huge ecological disaster in a unique pine forest", which has remained "intact" to this day, lamented the outgoing regional governor Costas Bakoyannis. The fire, which declared itself at the roadside on Tuesday at 3am (midnight in France), quickly spread, under the effect of gusts of wind, to the very dense and dry vegetation of the center of the island, a pine forest classified for its wildlife and wild flora.
Four evacuated villages
The disaster, which evolves on a front of twelve kilometers, did not make a victim but caused evacuations on the island of Eubée, the second Greek island by its size after Crete, located at a hundred kilometers with the northeast of Athens.
The incident caused the evacuation of the villages of Kontodespoti, Macrymalli, Stavros and Platana, in the center of the island, and threatened the city of Psachna during the night, said the authorities. "From Psachna to Kontodespoti and Makrymalli, everything is burned and we are fortunate to have no human casualties," ANS spokeswoman Thanassis Karakatzas told the Greek news agency.
Greek Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias also welcomed the fact that there were no injuries or respiratory problems that required hospitalization. As a precaution, three ambulances remained stationed in the area, he tweeted.
European resources mobilized
Some 200 firefighters were on site, helped by 75 land vehicles, nine helicopters and seven water bombers, according to the Greek fire service. An Italian water bomber was to lend a hand in the day, before the reinforcement expected in the evening of two planes from Spain and another from Italy. At the request of Greece, the European Union mobilized its resources from the Rescue Mechanism, operational in anticipation of forest fires in Europe.
Greece, where the thermometer rose to 40 degrees, has been hit in recent days by a series of fires. The alert level of emergency services was placed at a very high level Friday by the head of civil protection because of the combination of scorching temperatures, high winds and drought.