Evia Fire 05

August 25-28, 2007.

Canadair fire-fighting planes in wildfire in Central Evia – Greece.

Wildfires continued to ravage Evia, the Peloponnese and other parts of Greece for a fifth day as thousands of villagers fled their homes and the official death toll from the unprecedented blazes climbed to 63. After Greece declared a nationwide state of emergency on Saturday, many European Union and Mediterranean countries such as Cyprus, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Israel began sending firefighting aircraft to Greece. Firefighters and army conscripts, aided by foreign volunteers, fought blazes in the Peloponnesian prefectures of Ileia, Arcadia and Messinia and on the island of Evia as rescue workers scrambled to evacuate some 30 villages encircled by flames. The deadliest forest fires in the past 150 years that have torn through Greece since Friday are believed to have left hundreds of people homeless. Hospitals in fire-affected areas have been providing temporary accommodation to citizens whose homes have been destroyed. The government declared a state of emergency over the weekend as new fires, fanned by hot, gusting winds, continued to break out around Greece. According to the E.U., 454,447 acres of forest were burned, raising Greece's fire toll for the year so far to 664,020 acres.

Copyright 2007 Jordan Kevrekidis

Fire-fighting pictures from Evia, Greece:

Evia Firefighting 01 Evia Firefighting 02

Evia Firefighting 03 Evia Firefighting 04

Evia Firefighting 05 Evia Firefighting 06

Evia Firefighting 07 Evia Firefighting 08

Evia Firefighting 09 Evia Firefighting 10

Helicopter Loading Canadair Loading

Evia Fire 01 Evia Fire 02
Evia Fire 03 Evia Fire 04

Evia Fire 05 Evia Fire 06