Hundreds of firefighters and volunteers fight this Sunday against a dozen forest fires throughout the Greek territory, which have forced more than 7,000 people to evacuate and have burned dozens of houses and businesses, in addition to a vast forest area. The Balkan country has lived since last Monday a wave of intense heat that has fired the thermometers above 45 degrees in the south of the country. Saturday declared a fire on the outskirts of Athens that forced to evacuate the town of Kryoneri, of some 5,000 people and located about 20 kilometers north of the capital. This Sunday that fire was in remission and firefighters struggled to end small scattered spotlights, according to a spokesman for firefighters at a press conference. Some 220 firefighters with 70 trucks and two cistern helicopters operate in the area to contain the remaining spotlights and cool the area so that the fire does not revive. How four people were transferred on Kyroneri Saturday to the capital with respiratory problems, in addition to a firefighter who was hospitalized with minor burns, the SKAI station reported. In this municipality of the Athenian periphery several homes were burned, as well as businesses and small industries, according to the same source. In the control of this fire, 110 police officers have also participated who have managed to rescue 27 people who were trapped. The situation remains critical on the island of Cítera (South), in the Ionian Sea, where this Sunday the authorities have ordered the evacuation of four small towns, which are added to a dozen evacuated localities this Saturday. In total, some 350 people have had to leave their homes on this small Greek island, where some 70 firefighters with 22 trucks, three helicopters and two cistern aircraft continue to fight today against the flames. On Saturday night, 139 people who were trapped in a beach were rescued by boats of the Coast Guard and private ships and were transferred by sea to a safe area. “The situation today seems to be better and the fight continues with all the means we have at our disposal,” said Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in his official Facebook account. The conservative leader has stressed that «the Greek state will be next to all those who saw their properties destroyed by the fury of fire», thus committing to compensate those affected. Other 100 firefighters with 30 trucks, seven planes and a tank helicopter continue Evacuate about five locations. On the island of Eubea, located about 50 kilometers north of Athens, firefighters fight against small scattered outbreaks and there is no large front of active fire. This fire is one of the fastest spread, forcing hundreds of people from several villages and burning a vast area of virgin pine forest. Firefighters continue to fight against other fires also on the Greek island of Crete (south) and in the Kozani region (north).
