ATHENS, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Huge
wildfires gaining forces in strong winds were devouring houses and large patches
of forest and forcing thousands to abandon homes near Athens on Sunday.
Volunteers try to extinguish a bush fire
in the village of Kato Souli, about 50 km (31 miles) northwest of Athens,
August 23, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
As night fell, efforts to check the fires were
suspended. Firefighters were to resume operations at the first glow of light on
Monday, backed by water-dropping aircraft from several neighboring countries.
But challenges could be tougher for the coming day,
as the Greek weather service warned the gusts fanning up the fires were not
expected to abate before Monday night.
Authorities said they were evacuating the suburb of
Agios Stefanos, 23 km northeast of Athens, as flames reached residential
communities there on the third day of its rampancy.
In Northern Attica, two children's hospitals were
evacuated following the order of the General Secretariat of Civil Protection.
Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis flew in Sunday
morning by helicopter to the disaster areas, urging the people to follow
authorities' instructions and keep calm.
"We are facing a great ordeal," said Karamanlis, "The
fire department is making a superhuman effort."
To put out the wildfires, some 130 fire engines, 390
firefighters, and 52 water trucks were mobilized in the region of northern
Attica, the authorities said.
Government officials said that
at the request of the Greek government, aircraft and helicopters from Italy,
France and Cyprus were expected to come to help with the operation.
Volunteers with a tractor try to
extinguish a bush fire in the village of Kato Souli, about 50 km (31
miles) northwest of Athens, August 23, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
According to latest information from the Civil
Protection agency, wildfires already came within 20 km of downtown Athens,
prompting Greek authorities to declare a state of emergency in greater Athens.
"More than 120,000 stremmas
(30,000 acres) have been burnt. It is an ecological disaster," Athens Prefect
Yiannis Sgouros told NET TV channel.
The fires were reminiscent of those in 2007, when a
series of wildfires claimed 77 lives in the country. They will be a great test
to Karamanlis' conservative government, which is facing an early election by
March.
The socialist opposition PASOK party, ahead in
opinion polls, has said they will force snap elections in March, when parliament
elects a new president.
Karamanlis' government has been
accused of being slow in implementing reforms needed to boost the economy, and
it is also agonizing from simmering violence after the country's worst riots in
decades at the end of last year.
This NASA handout shows a satellite
image of smoke trails from the fires consuming several parts of the Greek
capital of Athens, Aug. 23, 2009. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Hot summers in southern Europe have always been
dangerous with a high probability of wildfires. In Italy, a fire broke out on
Wednesday in the protected woodlands of Sicily's Mount Etna National Park, the
Italian forestry service reported.
The Mount Etna National Park covers more than 58,000
hectares of land around the largest active volcano in Europe. In addition to
spectacular lava flows, the reserve also boasts a large stretch of forestland,
home to a lot of wildlife.
In Spain, some 84,000 hectares have been damaged by wildfire this summer, according to officials from the Spanish Environment Ministry. Eleven people were killed in the fires, including nine firefighters.
