Caricature of Prime Minister Kyryakos Mitsotakis for his detached attitude towards fires
About the devastating and deadly fires that broke out in Greece in recent days, tells New York Times in an article titled “Greece fights biggest fires in history“.
The extensive report details the fires that broke out in Parnit and Alexandroupolis, and mentions the presence of far-right extremists in Evros and the “arrest” of migrants by keeping them in trailers.
Scientists say that Greece is one of the countries in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East that, as the climate changes, will become warmer and drier faster than most of the rest of the world. This summer has been a glimpse into a future that is fast approaching, according to an international media outlet.
https://rua.gr/news/procrim/57204-ekros-najdeno-18-obuglivshikhsya-trupov-nelegalnykh-migrantov.html
On Tuesday, the bodies of 18 people, including two children, were found in a forest in the Evros region near the Turkish border. Authorities said they believed the dead were migrants who had been consumed by the flames and warned that it would be difficult to identify them.
https://www.rua.gr/news/prireco/57229-gretsiya-v-ogne-khroniki-23-avgusta.html
Just north of Athens, the authorities ordered the evacuation of the settlement of Agia Paraskevi, located next to the Parnita National Park, which houses a monastery and 50 people living in a nursing home. The migrant camp in Amygdalez was also evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Inadequate measures
Despite the modernization of the firefighting force in recent years, “significant steps” need to be taken so that Greece can respond to the “extreme situation” caused by climate change, Vassilis Kikilias said, citing the devastating fires in Hawaii and Canada as other examples of a global challenge.
“Greece regularly battles large wildfires that are becoming deadly. Hot, dry, windy summers, combined with local pine forests and highly flammable down, create the perfect conditions for the flames to get out of control. – writes NYT. – However, fire preparedness measures such as creating firebreaks and clearing dry grass are inadequate. Environmental groups argue that the government is not managing the risk properly and is investing little in firefighting equipment and training.”
On Wednesday, a Supreme Court prosecutor ordered an investigation into the cause of the Evros fire, including the possibility that a criminal organization of arsonists was behind it.
https://www.rua.gr/news/migrantskij-front/57214-mestnye-zhiteli-lovyat-i-arestovyvayut-nelegalov-na-goryashchem-evrose.html
The court also investigated the detention of 13 migrants by three men who blamed them for the fires and forced them into a windowless trailer while broadcasting their “vigilance” live on social media.
Destroyed property and burning Athens
For Athenians, Parnitha is a respite from the heat in an increasingly hot city where there is little green space and the national park plays a key role in cooling it down. Much of the mountain was destroyed by a series of fires in 2007, when they also killed many people in Greece’s southern Peloponnese region.
https://www.rua.gr/news/procrim/57224-chernyj-dym-okutal-akropol-zapakh-gari-po-vsem-afinam.html
Wednesday was a difficult day for the Athenians as air quality deteriorated and widespread flames on the mountain rallied forces. In Kirki, a small village in Evros, residents evacuated on Monday returned to find damaged property. “I grew up in this house,” cried Ioannis Kaltsos, 83, standing next to the blackened shell of a roofless house.
https://rua.gr/news/prireco/57232-zhitelej-aleksandrupolisa-evakuiruyut-iz-za-pozhara.html
“On the way here, I saw what was left of our forest. It was the most beautiful place,” he added. “My heart is broken.”
Nearby, in the village of Aura, a farmer with his wife, daughter and worker fought the flames to save their livestock. Firefighters arrived at the scene, the helicopter poured out a huge portion of water, but it seems that this did not change much. “It’s too late,” the farmer said, “the animals are dead.”
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