A spark from one tree suddenly becomes a fire in another. The wind keeps changing direction. This has saved a number of houses, but also made it difficult to know which direction the fire is taking. The locals say the last two summers have been worse, even though it’s hot and it hasn’t rained properly since May. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t affected people. Still smelling the smoke Several fires have occurred during the summer. On Tuesday, a forest fire started on the mountain Penteli north of Athens. In the mountains, people have built houses for expensive sums. Olga Theodosopoulou and her family had to evacuate. Photo: Ingeborg Undheim / news Olga Theodosopoulou (32) and her family were some of the first to be evacuated. The fire was only a few meters from their house. They used the garden hose and used the water from the pool to wash the house and plants. Fortunately for the family, the flames flew past their house. The fire brigade brought the fire under control yesterday, but the smell of smoke can still be felt. Olga visited the house after the fire was put out. She also fetches some things from the house that they didn’t have time to bring earlier. She doesn’t want to move back in quite yet. – I have small children, and I don’t want to go back until I have washed away the dust and the smoke has subsided. A little further down the mountain, an orphanage was evacuated on Tuesday evening. The flames were close by, but everyone got out safely. The building was saved from the fire when the wind changed. The children have still not been allowed to return. Spreading via pine trees A little further south of Penteli, lies the suburb of Pallini. The fire that started on Tuesday spread quickly from one garden to the other. Sakis stands in the garden and shaves away burnt pine cones and branches. He said that the fire spread so quickly that the fire brigade had no chance to stop him. – It was going at 110 kilometers per hour. It took a second before the fire had spread from there to there, says Sakis, pointing from one garden to the other. When the fire reaches the pine tree, the cones act as flame bombs. This is how the fire spreads from one spot to another. Photo: Ingeborg Undheim / news The house was left alone, with a margin of a few metres. The fig tree, the pomegranate tree and the olive tree, on the other hand, were beaten. – Pine trees are the problem, he says. When the fire reaches the tree, the cones explode with sparks on to a new spot. He is not particularly surprised. – We are destroying our planet slowly but surely. As long as people abuse the earth, things don’t look good for our planet, he says. On the lawn, next to the burnt garden hose, he has collected a bag of lemons that the fire did not get. – This is Hellas A little further up the street Dimitris is standing outside his house. He uses the water hose on a spot that is still smoking. Dimitris does not know what he will get back on the insurance. Photo: Ingeborg Undheim / news He is upset. Angry. – I don’t know what I will get back on the insurance and I don’t know how long it will take. But he reckons that he will have to be responsible for building the house himself. – This is Greece, he says. He lives in the house together with his family of nine. All evening he worked to get everyone out. Also the dog Bella and the cat. On Thursday, he works to ensure that the fire does not flare up again. The house is burnt down. Dimitris does not want to enter, or let others in. – There is a danger that the roof will come down. Two journalists from a local TV station come by. They ask if they can interview him on camera. – I don’t want to talk to you. I’m so angry, I’m afraid to ban. New fires occur South of the birthplace of democracy, in the city of Megara, they have also gained control of the fire that occurred yesterday. According to the residents, the fire brigade quickly got control of the fire this year. Last year there was a fire for three days straight. Helicopters and planes fly back and forth between the sea and the mountains. On Thursday evening, a fire started in an industrial area west of Athens. People in the vicinity were told to close their windows and doors because of toxins in the smoke. One could see the cloud from several kilometers away. The house gang Giorgios, Kostos, Angelos, Giorgios, Banagiotis and Nikos were out playing in the area when they saw the big cloud of smoke in their neighbourhood. – What did they think when they saw him? – We weren’t too scared, because there were a lot of police and firemen who came. But they became very curious. – It looked very cool with all the smoke, because the sun was right there, he says one and shows that the sun was on its way down. Giorgios, Kostos, Angelos, Giorgios, Banagiotis and Nikos say they were not scared. Photo: Ingeborg Undheim / news Heat wave on its way Local media reports that the heat wave is on its way towards Greece. Up until now, the summer has actually been cooler than usual. The temperature is below 40 degrees for large parts of the summer. One of the ambulance team says that those who have been injured, as far as he knows, are the firefighters themselves. Then there was smoke poisoning and fire damage. So far this year, no one has lost their life to the fires. An elderly man in his 80s took his own life when his house caught fire for the third time, according to a local medium. Whether or not human life is lost is a bit random, say the ambulance man.
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Cleaning up the remains after the forest fire in Athens – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
