Battle to save Athens Olympic site from fire

Firefighters backed by aircraft prevented the birthplace of the ancient Olympics from being consumed by flames as Greece’s worst wildfires in memory blazed across the country and the death toll climbed to 60.

New fires broke out faster than others could be brought under control, with 63 new blazes yesterday. Walls of flames have swallowed villages, forests and farmland over three days, leaving behind a charred landscape dotted with gutted homes and the carcasses of burned animals.

“Fires are burning in more than half the country,” said fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis. “This is definitely an unprecedented disaster for Greece.”

Desperate residents appealed through television stations for help from a firefighting service already stretched to the limit and many blamed authorities for leaving them defenceless. The government declared a state of emergency on Saturday.

Throughout the night, more villages were evacuated. The fire department said 42 major fires were still blazing out of control.

Authorities have suggested arson caused many of the blazes, and several people had been arrested. The government offered a reward of up to £700,000 for anyone providing information that would lead to the arrest of an arsonist.

Forest fires are common during Greece’s hot, dry summers – but nothing has approached the scale of the last three days. Arson is often suspected, mostly to clear land for development. No construction is allowed in Greece in areas designated as forest land, and fires could be set to circumvent the law by disputing the status of the area.

Flames which at times leaped 300 feet into the air reached Ancient Olympia in southern Greece yesterday, burning trees and shrubs just a few yards from the walls of the museum at the 2,800-year-old site.

Helicopters and aircraft covered the ruins with water and foam. The flames reached the edge of the ancient stadium, searing the grass and incinerating the trees on the hill above. Volunteers grabbed buckets of water and joined firefighters.

“Firefighters fought a battle in Ancient Olympia, which was won,” said fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis.

Pristine cypress and pine forests around the site was obliterated, but the ruins were saved.

“The important thing is that the museum is as it was and the archaeological site will not have any problem,” culture minister George Voulgarakis said after flying to the site by helicopter.

But the nearby grounds of the International Olympic Academy were completely burned, as was the grove where the heart of Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, is buried.

Voulgarakis, who described the fire as “catastrophic for the environment” around the ancient site, said authorities were examining the possibility of replanting the area with large trees in order to restore the landscape as closely as possible to its original condition.

Across the country, thousands of acres burned. By sea and by land, hundreds of people were evacuated from villages, hotels and resorts. Others took refuge in churches and schools, while the Health Ministry was sending hundreds of tents to southern Greece to house those left homeless.

The destruction has angered Greeks – already stunned by deadly forest fires in June and July – and looks set to dominate political debate ahead of national elections scheduled for September. 16.

“I am very angry. The government was totally unable to deal with this situation,” Ancient Olympia schoolteacher Gerassimos Kaproulias said.

“Nobody thought that one of the five most highly-protected areas in Greece could be burned like this.”

The worst of the fires have been concentrated in the mountains of the Peloponnese in the south, near the town of Zaharo, and on the island of Evia north of Athens. Strong winds blew smoke and ash over the capital, blackening the evening sky and turning the rising moon red.