Greeks struggle to contain huge blazes

EXHAUSTED Greek firefighters battled around the clock for the fourth day to try and contain massive blazes north of Athens yesterday.

Six major fires were burning across Greece, including blazes on the islands of Evia and Skyros in the Aegean and Zakynthos in the west.

But the most dangerous was the fire near Athens, which started north of the Marathon plain and spread over Mount Penteli on the northern edge of Athens.

Firefighters tried hard yesterday to push the fires back from the outskirts of the Greek capital, with 17 water-dropping planes and helicopters swooping over flames near populated areas. They were joined by up to 2,000 military personnel and volunteers.

But, fed by strong winds, the flames still spread and threatened property further to the north, where a convent of nuns was rescued and residents defended their homes with only buckets of water.

“We are making every possible effort to limit the boundaries of the fire,” said the fire service.

Fires north of Athens have razed about 60 square miles of forest and brush, damaged or destroyed homes, and forced thousands to temporarily flee their homes. Popular tourist destinations have not been affected.

At least five people were being treated for burns and several dozen had reported breathing problems, but no injuries were serious.

Firefighting planes and helicopters from France, Italy and Cyprus were operating outside Athens, with more planes arriving from Spain and Turkey.

There were no firm estimates on the thousands of residents who evacuated or the scores of homes that were torched. Athens regional governor Yiannis Sgouros said damage would be assessed once the fires were put out.

The elderly nuns had to be evacuated from their convent and the remains of Saint Ephrem removed to a safer location after flames spread close.

“The flames were 30 meters high,” said one of the dozen nuns evacuated, wearing a black habit and a surgical mask to ward off the smoke and grit. “Thankfully they came and rescued us.”

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis toured the fire-affected areas on Sunday amid strong criticism of his government’s response to the emergency by conservation groups and municipal officials.

Critics said the government had not reformed its forest-protection plans even after huge fires swept through southern Greece two years ago, killing 76 people.

“A compete overhaul is required in the way we deal with forest fires . . .

There is no sign the (government) is moving the right direction,” the environmental group WWF in Greece said.

It said state planners had made insufficient use of volunteer groups and had failed to crack down on rogue developers who build homes illegally in burnt forest areas.

A government spokesman insisted that the firefighting effort was “well coordinated”.

Meanwhile fires raged at the coastal town of Nea Makri and nearby Marathon, site of one of ancient history’s most famous battlegrounds, to the northeast of the capital and at Vilia to the northwest.

The blaze at Nea Makri tore down a hillside toward houses, where volunteers with water-soaked towels wrapped around their necks beat back the flames with tree branches.

Fires also threatened the ancient fortress town of Rhamnus, home to two 2,500-year-old temples.

Officials have not said what started the fires.