Fires in Greece

Lets join together in Prayer for the people in Greece



ZAHARO, Greece - Fires pushed by gale-force winds tore through more parched forests, swallowed villages and scorched the edges of Athens on Saturday with ashes raining onto the Acropolis. The death toll rose to at least 49 as the government declared a nationwide state of emergency.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070825/ap_on_re_eu/greece_fires

I just found out that ALL of Greece was without internet all day. We got ours back a few hours ago....All of Athens was without power all day, so they must have gotten it back on. We have neighboring fires on the Island across from us, near the airport, (We live near the airport but not in the fire affected areas) Porto Rafti, where our little Zodiac boat sits, and Rafina, next to our town....and the Peleponesis area. which you listed above where there were many deaths, and still people missing.

There has been a call for a Nationwide state of emergency, our firefighters are tapped out...and we lost a few. They believe arson was cause for atleast half of them, though the heatwave and high winds are also cause in many areas. It is not pleasant to hear about, and many prayers are needed for not only the country, but for the victims, and their families. The worst, heart breaking story was the woman with 4 children whom they found the mother with her arms wrapped around her kids, and yet unidentifiable due to the burns.... this is a sad time in Greece. Now the talk is terrorism, but I highly doubt that....arson and natural fires makes more sense, especially the areas they are in.

Oh my goodness!!! I will be praying for you Sister!!!

Update. It is now 7:20 a.m. here and our house smells like smoke. The air outside is thick and smells like it is next to us, but it is not. It has been windy all summer, so I will assume that it is coming from the Island across from us. Also the areas surrounding us that have the fires could be mixing. It smells terrible outside. I had to close the balcony doors to prevent more smell from coming inside, and the house is hot enough.

Pray the Lord will have mercy on us and send a ton of rain! It is terrible...I mean, to smell it so strong, and not see anything, (ie: flames close by) it's just awful.

hi im new here. i heard about the fires up there. i know its hard. my house burned down about 2 years ago and man was that hard im sooooooooooooo sorrry

Hi and welcome! I am sorry to hear about your house....that must have been so hard on you and your family!!! It is amazing how one day all seems fine and dandy and then boom! But we survive it! By God's grace, we do survive so much, don't we? So glad to have you here!

Several European Union countries are sending
firefighters and equipment to Greece to help fight hundreds of forest
fires that have killed at least 49 people.
Earlier, Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis declared a nationwide state of emergency.
He said action was being was taken "to mobilise all means and all
forces" to put out the worst fires in a decade and help those affected,
mostly on the Peloponnese peninsula.
A spokeswoman for the Greek embassy in London, Menya Papadopoulou, has described the firefighting operation.
"We're getting help from France, from Italy, from Spain, Germany, Holland, Cyprus," she said.
"Of course whatever water-dropping planes arrive tonight, most
probably they will not be able to operate as night makes things more
difficult."
Mr Karamanlis has pointed the finger at arsonists for starting the
fires in areas hit hard by summer droughts and multiple heatwaves, and
said his Government would "do everything in its power to find and
punish those responsible".
Firefighters say 22 fires started after nightfall on Friday (local
time), and Mr Karamanlis says that "could not have been a coincidence".
Four people were arrested on Saturday on suspicion of deliberately
starting fires.
Bodies recovered


Thirty-nine bodies have been recovered since Friday near the village
of Zacharo in the Ilia region of the western Peloponnese, including
those of a mother and her four children, aged five to 15.
These included the charred remains of two groups discovered on roads
in the mountainous area inhabited mostly by the elderly in winter but a
popular family holiday destination in summer.
Four others were found on Saturday near the village of Leondari in the central Peloponnese region of Arcadia.
Six more perished on Friday on the Mani peninsula, a tourist haven
in the southern Peloponnese, including four holidaymakers and a
volunteer fireman from a heart attack.
From midday on Saturday (local time) onwards, flames fanned by
strong winds began spreading through the region, with evacuations
ordered for about 10 areas, firefighters said.
The army and health ministry say tents, sleeping bags and other
supplies are being sent to house those left homeless by the fires, and
schools have been commandeered.
"It's chaos. Generations of work have gone up in smoke," said
Vassilis Viglas, 65, who had returned to the now devastated village of
Artemida for the summer.
More than 800 firefighters, along with about 400 soldiers, supported
by 11 planes and seven helicopters, are attempting to stop the spread
of the flames in the area.
Help from EU


Greece's EU neighbours have responded to appeals for help from
Athens. France has sent four Canadair specialised firefighting
aircraft, Spain two and Italy one. Sweden has also offered to send an
aircraft.
Germany, the Netherlands and Norway have dispatched helicopters.
France has also dispatched 60 firefighters, and Cyprus firefighters and fire trucks.
Another fire also started on a mountain near Athens, but
firefighters are in the process of bringing it under control. A convent
has been evacuated there.
Another blaze has broken out in Keratea, north-east of the capital, and is moving towards the seaside resort of Lagonissi.
On the island of Euboea, north-east of Athens, firefighters have
been battling a blaze since Friday night. Evacuations have been called
for in four different areas.
Greece has been battling multiple forest fires since June, fanned by
three heatwaves, the latest this week, and months of drought. Tens of
thousands of hectares have gone up in smoke.
There is no respite from the heat in sight. The temperature is
forecast to hit a high of 36 Celsius on Sunday in the Peloponnese, with
winds of around 20 kilometres per hour fanning the flames.

Death toll climbs in Greek fires



Posted Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:00pm AEST



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Greek authorities are trying to grapple with what has been described as a national tragedy. (AFP: Louisa Gouliamaki)


Emergency workers in Greece are continuing to find bodies of people killed in the worst fires to hit the country for decades.
Firefighters have discovered another four corpses taking the death
toll to at least 41. Among those killed were a woman and her four
children, aged from five to 15.
Authorities are trying to grapple with what has been described as a national tragedy.
It is also being called 'Black Saturday' and the Peloponnese in southern Greece is being labelled a crematorium.
Apt descriptions both, as every hour more charred bodies are recovered.
Some of the victims died in their cars. Others by the roadside or in
olive groves - all unable to outrun the rapidly shifting wall of flame.

People in remote mountain villages have been phoning television
stations, appealing for someone to rescue them. One caller said the
flames were just 50 metres from her home.
Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis has called an emergency Cabinet meeting following reports of the rising death toll.
Greeks have been stunned by the extent of the devastation wrought by fires, that mostly have been blamed on arsonists

With all the international aid, the fires are still growing. They are evacutating many areas of the Island that is directly across from us, the one I see every day from our balcony. 69 people and counting.

OMIGOSH! That's just awful!!! I'm still praying...very hard!!!

Raging Fires in Greece Kill Another 12 People - New York Times

4 people died across from us on Eobeoa (Pronounced Evie-ah)

We drove around tonight, and did not see anything, but the air is really thick and the clouds showed the setting sun so vibrantly pink and then covered it in blackness. I tried to take pictures, but the pics didn't do it justice...and we were in a moving car.

The news says it is just getting worse instead of better and people are outraged. They say this is the worst fire in Greek history since the late 1800's, I think it was 1871. And 30 years ago there was a massive fire but the death toll was much lower. Every year there are fires here, somewhat like California. The heat and the pine-cones...not a good combiation. In July, when the temp hit 115 F in the shade....there were fires, but this time it is out of control. I hate having to post these disheartening updates. So, if for any reason I do end up off-line for a while, like yesterday, you will know why. Please continue to keep Greece in your prayers, along with ALL the countries suffering with fires and other disasters. God Bless