Tag: Greece

More photos of the fires in Greece

Some amazing photos are coming out of the fire situation in Greece.

A Bombardier 415 air tanker makes a drop in Varnava village, northeast of Athens on Saturday. Photo: Yiorgos Karahalis
Smoke is seen behind the Acropolis in Athens on Saturday. Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki
A Sikorsky Aircrane makes a drop on a fire near Marathon in Greece. Photo: Dimitri Messinis

100 fires in Greece in 24 hours

Very strong winds and 100 fires in Greece combined to challenge firefighters on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Late in the day on Friday the winds abated making it possible to gain containment over most of the fires, however several homes burned.

Flames broke out in the village of Kaletzi, north of Athens, quickly engulfing a pine forest and olive groves and threatening homes. Photo: Aris Messinis

Interesting hardware in the photo below.

Photo: Dimitri Messinis

One of the fires 25 miles northeast of Athens is still burning unchecked and is threatening homes and villages. Firefighters are concerned that the fire could spread west onto the slopes of Mount Pendeli and threaten Athens’s northern suburbs. The military moved antiaircraft missiles and ammunition from a military base in Varnava.

Here is a video from ITN News about the fires. Notice the effects of the wind.

(THE VIDEO IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

Thanks Dick

Athens wildfire threatens homes

A volunteer firefighter extinguishes a bushfire in Magoula village, a few miles northwest of Athens, August 20, 2009. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis

We’re bringing you the story of a fire in Greece which is threatening homes near Athens because we needed an excuse to include the photo above of the firefighter attempting to put out a vegetation fire with a dry chemical fire extinguisher. We will have to assume that for some reason that was the only option available to the firefighter at that time.

Is there a watch-out situation that addresses attacking the head of a fire with a dry chemical fire extinguisher?

There are no more details about the fire available except that a warehouse and two trucks burned, and the fire is being fought with 100 firefighters, 25 engines, and 5 helicopters.