Fire in Greece: Northerners angry over 'disastrous' damage

2023-09-02T21:50:00.836Z

Highlights: Flames have been raging in northern Greece for two weeks. Nearly 600 firefighters are at work in a region where more than 80,000 hectares of vegetation have already gone up in smoke. The fire, now described as "the largest fire everrecorded" in the European Union, began its course in the forest region surrounding the city of Alexandroupoli. On a hill on the edge of the city stands the small church of the prophet Elias. Tassos Demerzopoulos went there to show the extent of the damage.

Flames have been raging in northern Greece for two weeks. After the surroundings of the city of Alexandroupoli, it is now the forest of Dadia, in the sector of the river Evros, at the...

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Fire in Greece: Northerners angry over 'disastrous' damage

Flames have been raging in northern Greece for two weeks. After the outskirts of the city of Alexandroupoli, it is now the Dadia forest, in the sector of the Evros River, on the Greek-Turkish border, which is the victim of the displacement of this fire. Nearly 600 firefighters are at work in a region where more than 80,000 hectares of vegetation have already gone up in smoke, according to the European Copernicus measurement system.

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The fires are still ongoing in northern Greece, in Alexandroupoli, here on August 23, 2023. © Achilleas Chiras / AP

By: RFI Follow

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With our special envoy in Alexandroupoli, Joël Bronner

The fire, now described as "the largest fire everrecorded" in the European Union, began its course in the forest region surrounding the city of Alexandroupoli. On a hill on the edge of the city stands the small church of the prophet Elias.

Tassos Demerzopoulos went there to show the extent of the damage. He looks angrily at the view that is offered to him, a view as "stripped" by the flames, which have made him lose his colors.

See the helicopter over the sea there? That's because the fire in the area is still not over, says the professional driver. Other than that, how do you expect me to describe what we have in front of us? What can I say... That it is a disaster? There is nothing left to describe, there are scorched lands, nothing else. Before, this area was part of the forest, there was a very beautiful landscape here, now, as you see, the fire has ravaged everything.

A fire so close to the city, with smoke so intense, that at the beginning of this long sequence of fire, this resident of the big city closest to the Greek-Turkish border claims not to have seen the Sun for two days.

See alsoGreece: at least 150,000 hectares of vegetation burned in fires this summer

Fire in Greece: Northerners angry over 'disastrous' damage

Fire in Greece: Northerners angry over 'disastrous' damage

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