ATHENS: Greece on Sunday was battling wildfires that have ravaged homes and sparked evacuations, with Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft being deployed to help. Firefighters were working on five fire fronts late on Sunday in the Peloponnese area west of Athens, as well as on the islands of Evia, Kythera and Crete. "Today is expected to be a difficult day with a very high risk of fire, almost throughout the territory," fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said, though he added that the situation was improving.
Forecasters predicted that strong winds that have been fanning the flames would die down on Sunday in most areas. But they warned that Kythera, a popular tourist island with 3,600 inhabitants, continued to face "worrying" conditions.
Evacuation messages were on Sunday sent to people on the island, which lies off the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese. Giorgos Komninos, deputy mayor of Kythera, told the state-run ERT News channel that half of Kythera had been charred. "Houses, beehives, olive trees have been burnt," he said.
ERT reported that a broad fire was still burning on the island late on Sunday, but in smaller fronts and the situation was improving. Dozens of firefighters supported by three helicopters and two aircraft were battling the Kythera blaze, which erupted on Saturday and forced the evacuation of people stranded on a popular tourist beach. Local authorities have requested a state of emergency so that stepped-up assistance can be provided for the island, which was previously stricken by a major fire in 2017.
Eleven regions of Greece still face a very high fire risk, according to officials. Greece requested EU help on Saturday and two Italian aircraft were expected to arrive on Sunday, the fire brigade said. Units from the Czech Republic were already at work. Numerous flare-ups were reported overnight on the island of Evia, near Athens, where flames laid waste to swathes of forest and killed thousands of farm animals.
Workers have toiled throughout the day to repair serious damage to Evia's electricity network and some villages were facing water supply disruptions. Farther south, on Crete, reports said fires that started on Saturday, destroying four houses and a church, were now largely contained.
In Kryoneri, north of Athens, police reportedly bolstered security as fears grow that looters could target houses abandoned by residents fleeing a fire that erupted on Saturday but which was mostly contained on Sunday.
"We are fighting here. What can we do?" asked one local, Kryoneri Giorgos, wearing a mask to protect himself from the smoke. — AFP
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