Greece Major fire near Athens extinguished - the questions remain
The major fire that raged for almost three days near Athens has been extinguished. Firefighters are still patrolling the region - the so-called fire watch is intended to prevent embers from flaring up again. In Greece, meanwhile, the discussion about causes and responsibility has begun.
According to media reports, a broken electricity pylon may have started the fire on Sunday afternoon. The daily newspaper "Kathimerini" reported that a citizen had observed that the holder for the power cables on the pylon in question had broken. Experts then inspected the site and collected material for investigation.
Local resident: fire was "like an atomic bomb"
People are still stunned by how quickly the fire spread. "It was like an atomic bomb", a local resident told the newspaper. There is some criticism of the fire department's response planning: some citizens complain on social media that they didn't see any fire-fighting planes or helicopters for a long time, even though the fire was burning. Others are full of praise that the huge area of around 100 square kilometers could be extinguished so quickly.
Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias points out that the first fire-fighting helicopter was on the scene just four minutes after the fire broke out. This is also confirmed by drone footage of the fire department shown in Greek media. The minister posted the video on the X platform. However, the firefighters initially had no chance due to the strong winds.
There are also questions about the only fatality of the fire, a woman who was unable to escape from the buildings of a nursery. The newspaper "To Proto Thema" reported that other employees had fled to safety and some had jumped from the balcony. It is believed that the woman suffered smoke inhalation and fainted.
There seems to be a consensus that, given the hell of the fire, it is a miracle that there were not more victims. The authorities had evacuated a total of 45 towns and districts at an early stage.
Support begins
Those affected should be able to apply online within a few days for financial aid amounting to 4.5 million euros from an initial aid package launched by the government. It is not yet clear how many people have lost their homes and how many businesses and farms have been damaged. Only one thing seems certain: the fire burned for less than three days - it will take a long time to deal with the disaster and reforest the charred, devastated area.
