Greece

Main front of forest fire near Athens under control

cde.news desk 22 May 2021, 13:00 · 1 min read

Firemen battle to extinguish a fire in the pine forest of Gerania, near Loutraki, Peloponnese, Greece, 21 May 2021. Firefighting forces from central Greece have converged in the area around the Gerania mountains, where the fire is burning dense pine forest. A total of 278 firefighters are deployed, with 89 firetrucks, 10 rough terrain groups from the army, and 18 dowsing planes with 3 helicopters, in addition to water trucks and other auxiliary vehicles, following two days of battling a fire that started in Schinos, in the Loutraki area of Corinth prefecture on 19 May. EPA-EFE/VASSILIS PSOMAS

Hundreds of Greek firefighters battled a forest fire near Athens for a third day on Saturday, but brought the main front of the blaze under control as weather conditions improved.

The fire, on the Geraneia mountain range, some 90 kilometres (55 miles) west of the capital, is “one of the biggest in the past 20 to 30 years, and has come early in the season,” fire chief Stefanos Kolokouris told ANT1 television.

More than 270 firefighters, backed by 16 aircraft and by the army were fighting the blazes, the fire service said.

No injuries have been reported, but a number of houses have been damaged or destroyed and a dozen villages and hamlets have been evacuated.

Better weather conditions allowed firefighters to bring the main front of the outbreak under control late on Friday, but there remain “several active and scattered” blazes, Kolokouris said.

Photo: Firemen battle to extinguish a fire in the pine forest of Gerania, near Loutraki, Peloponnese, Greece. EPA-EFE/VASSILIS PSOMAS

Main front of forest fire near Athens under control

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