Greek firefighters get two of three major blazes under control

Athens, July 20, (dpa/GNA) – Greek firefighters have managed to get two of three major blazes under control to the north and the west of the capital Athens, a fire brigade spokesman told Skai radio on Thursday.

The situation had improved considerably, the spokesman explained. Smaller fires were still burning in the Dervenochoria region, and near the town of Loutraki, but officials hoped that these would be extinguished later in the day.

The third major blaze continued to rage in a forested area on the island of Rhodes, a popular holiday destination.

The forest is burning in the middle of the island near the village of Apollona, and covers an area of around 30 hectares, according to the fire brigade – the equivalent of around 30 football pitches.

The situation had improved slightly by Thursday morning, but the impassable terrain with very tall trees makes the fire-fighting work difficult, state broadcaster ERT reported.

The fire brigade estimated the risk of forest fires to be lower overall for Thursday than in the previous days, partly because the previously strong winds have subsided.

However, Greece is arming itself for a new heatwave, which is expected to peak at the weekend. Officials said they could not give the all-clear in view of ongoing dry conditions.

It has not rained in Greece for some time. Last weekend, a heatwave lasting several days intensified the drought.

Forecasters say the new heatwave is likely to peak at the weekend, with local temperatures expected to reach 44 degrees Celsius.

GNA