Why Parnitha’s Keepers Are Concerned

“This winter did not help improve the situation. There was little moisture and little rain. We hope for a cool summer, but the forecast is unfortunately not very good,” volunteer Sofia Karkali tells Katimerini.

Sofia Karkali, general secretary of the Attica Voluntary Forest Fire Association (EDASA), is concerned about weather conditions this summer. Memories of the fire in Parnit in 2021 are still vivid, and no one wants to see or relive pictures of the disaster. Especially the people who volunteer to spend their days on the mountain trying to prevent any spark that could endanger the national park.

Every evening, starting Friday June 9, they will be on duty in shifts on site: at the Skippies fire station, at an altitude of 1270 meters, among the lush landscape. From this point, a view opens up to a distance of 30 km, up to Aliveri and Dervenochoria.

“We need to report this immediately so that the fire department can arrive at the scene within the first five minutes,” says Sofia Karkali. “This is a very large area, and it takes a long time to look through it with binoculars, inch by inch, to find something. Several times it happened that we gave microsymbols, which, precisely because we noticed them at the very beginning, did not hit The effort is to report immediately so that the fire brigade can arrive on site within the first five minutes,” Ms. Karkali, who has been a volunteer with EDASA, in the forestry fires and extinguish them.

She has two children and works as an employee at the National Technical University of Athens. According to her, volunteering in the mountains is a necessary way out of the daily routine, because, in addition to the importance of return, it is also a valuable satisfaction that comes from contact with nature.

Volunteering in the mountains is a necessary way out of the daily routine, because in addition to the importance of the offer, it is also a personal satisfaction that gives people contact with nature. Photo.

“There were moments when I was away from my children, spending hours in the mountains. But when they grew up, my son and daughter realized how important and beautiful it is to give themselves to nature. Now they also take part in some training and are waiting for the first opportunity to join the club,” she tells K. “It’s all about being able to pass on that germ to the next generation, because they’re the ones who will get that environment and have to manage it in a way that’s sustainable for the next generation,” adds she.

At work and at night. Photo.

“We need new volunteers”
After forest disasters, there has been an increase in volunteer participation, but at least twice as many people are required to meet the needs. EDASA’s efforts to protect Parnita have been going on for 36 years. Today, about a hundred people, women and men from 18 to 58 years old, representatives of various professions, take part in the work of the association. Of these, 75% are actively involved in activities.

“These are students, engineers, university professors, the unemployed, workers, private employees, people who really feel the need to do something meaningful for the environment. By participating in the work of the association, we are actually creating active citizens, more conscious than before, and it’s something we’re proud of,” says George Mavrogeorgos, head of the Attica Volunteer Forest Fire Prevention Association, who started as a volunteer in 2012, tells K. He notes that after forest disasters, there has been an increase in volunteer participation, but at least twice as many volunteers are required to meet the needs. “I would like to encourage more people to join either our association or other volunteer groups. The more of us, the better. With more fire stations, we will be able to cover a greater range, and this is always desirable,” he says.

Preparing the car for daily patrols. Photo.

The 39-year-old worker Nonia Malefaki tells. Two years ago, she took part in the EDASA forest fire and forest guard training courses for the first time, and very quickly “joined the work”. It was early August 2021 when a big fire broke out in Parnit and she was on the front lines working under firefighters. “All these days I was on the mountain. I experienced a lot of sadness, because for the first time the consequences of the fire were right in front of me. I saw how the small trees were burning, and my soul was pinched. But there was no time for sentimentality and reflection. At that moment, I just listened to the instructions and followed them,” she tells K.

“The fire united us, we all became one.”
This experience was the reason that Nonia became close to the members of the association from the very beginning, with whom she now carries out night patrols and is on duty at the fire station in Skipiz. “The fire united us, we all became” one whole “. We fought fire for a common cause. Yes, the association and its actions are very important, but it is always the people who are part of the association, they are the ones who do this work,” she says us.

Two years ago, Nonia Malefaki took part in the EDASA forest fire and forest guard training courses for the first time, and very quickly “entered the topic”. It was early August 2021 when a big fire broke out in Parnit and she was on the front lines working under firefighters. Photo.

“In 2007, no one believed that the national park could burn down.”

And if a few decades ago no one imagined that Parnita could be destroyed, then everything changed in one summer. In late June 2007, after a prolonged heat wave, a fire that started in Dervenochoria and ended in the National Park burned tens of thousands of acres, causing a huge environmental disaster.

“I know volunteers who since then have not been able to climb the mountain again because they were psychologically affected by the pictures of the disaster,” says Mavrogeorgos. “Now, however, there is an understanding of this phenomenon. There is a fear that this could happen again. As confirmed scientific forecasts, weather conditions – hot and dry, followed by periods of windy weather – favor the spread of fire. The point is not to get to a point where the fire brigade must drive to put out the fire, the point is to prevent it from starting. “

“The main thing is not to bring the matter to the point where the fire truck drove to extinguish the fire, the main thing is that it does not start.” Photo.

Informing citizens for the purpose of prevention is what is needed to prevent the risk of a fire, EDASA volunteers emphasize. But it is equally important that the right measures are taken by the state. What has changed since last year? We ask them.

“There have been several clearings of vegetation as well as removal of trees, mostly near the roads, but also towards the forest. Some forest roads have been opened, while others that existed before have been slightly widened to make it easier for fire engines to access them.” , says Ms Karkali, who still believes that no matter how many measures are taken, they will never be enough if there is human negligence. “It’s not about getting to the point where the fire truck has to drive to put out the fire, it’s about preventing it from starting.”

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