Thousands evacuated as Athens fires spread

ATHENS: Fire burned through suburbs north of Athens early yesterday, destroying homes and forcing thousands to flee in night-time evacuations, fire service and local officials said.

Authorities announced they were evacuating the suburb of Agios Stefanos, 23 km northeast of Athens, as flames closed in on the town center. Low-flying planes were seen pouring water on burning houses.

"I call on all residents to follow the instructions of the police as to where they will go," an emotional Agios Stefanos deputy mayor Panayiotis Bitakos told Skai TV. "We had been begging the authorities since early in the morning to send forces ... It is too late now. Too late."

Early yesterday afternoon, police with loudspeakers directed the suburb's nearly 10,000 residents to leave immediately on the main road to Athens. Panicked residents gathered at the town's main square while others tried desperately to save their houses, using hoses, buckets and even tree branches to beat the flames.

Firefighting planes and helicopters resumed operations at dawn but, with gale force winds driving the flames, the spread of the fire has not been checked. TV images showed two airplanes and two helicopters pouring water on a burning pine forest outside Agios Stefanos and the fire re-igniting within seconds of their departure.

The pine forests that surround the northern Athens suburbs have fueled the fire's expansion.

"The pine cones are like projectiles - they cover long distances, too, and spread the fire around," said Avraam Pasipoularidis, mayor of the northern suburb of Drossia. "Everything around me is burning."

The fires came within 20 km of downtown Athens and blackened thousands of hectares of rugged land covered by pine forest or thick bush. The army removed anti-aircraft missiles from a military base as flames approached.

A state of emergency was declared in greater Athens. These are the most destructive fires seen in Greece since blazes in the south of the country killed more than 70 people in 2007.

AP

(China Daily 08/24/2009 page7)