Greece's Poor Precautions to Blame for Fires in Rhodes

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's failure to improve its fire fighting system after deadly blazes last year was to blame for fires that raged for days in July on the island of Rhodes, environmentalists said on Wednesday.

(Pictured at right: A dead goat lies amid charred trees after a forest fire at Laerma village in the southern part of Rhodes island July 27, 2008.)

The fires, which burned for seven days, destroyed 11,000 hectares of farmland and pristine pine forests on the Aegean holiday island despite the efforts of hundreds of fire fighters and volunteers.

The blaze forced the evacuation of scores of villagers and visitors during the high season for tourism and devastated woodlands that are home to wild fallow deer.

"Rhodes paid the price this year for the insufficiency of the country's fire protection system," the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said in a report.

A spokesman for the Greek fire brigade, however, said weather conditions had made it difficult to contain the blaze despite the best efforts of the authorities.

"It was a very difficult fire," Giannis Kapakis, Greek fire brigade spokesman, told Reuters. "More than 12 aircraft and hundreds of firemen and volunteers battled to put the fire out."

WWF said the fire on Rhodes had burned areas that had already been torched during the last 20 years.

"This means burned young fir and pine forests will need even more years to grow back and fallow deer may risk their lives seeking food closer to people and farms," said Nikos Georgiadis, a forest expert at the Greek branch of WWF.

The branch warned in May that the country was not ready to deal with another forest fire season after enduring a state of emergency in 2007 during a 10-day inferno that killed 65 people.

The Fund had called for the creation of a specialist unit within the fire brigade, more staff, improved training and more funds for fire prevention.

Georgiadis said the local eco-system would recover if left alone but one third of the forests would need to be replanted.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; editing by Daniel Flynn and Tim Pearce)
Link to original article.

WWF in despair over Greek fire damage

· Rare species of animals and plants lost in flames
· Anger rises as developers move in on stricken areas

Helena Smith in Athens
Friday September 28, 2007
The Guardian


A burnt-out fire truck and cars in village of Artemida in southern Greece. Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty images

Two percent of the surface area of Greece was destroyed by forest fires this summer, including some of Europe's lushest nature reserves. The extent of the damage wrought by the infernos is much larger than initially thought, with rare species of reptiles, mammals and endemic plants being lost, according to the conservation group WWF.

"The destruction by far exceeds our expectations, and is more dramatic and extensive than we imagined," Dimitris Karavellas, who heads the WWF in Greece, said. "These fires were not only the worst on record, they ravaged everything. Very few patches of life, patches that are now refuges for various animal species, were left behind," he said.

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Aided by satellite maps, environmentalists have established that in six weeks the flames consumed roughly one-tenth of the country's forests, with large swaths of land inside EU-protected areas also being burned. Among the designated areas was Mount Taygetos, one of Greece's most spectacular nature reserves, which had just begun to recover from devastating blazes in 1998.

The destruction - exacerbated by the hottest summer in 50 years - will doubtless worsen if a winter of heavy rainfall follows, Mr Karavellas said.

The group's grim assessment came a month after fires erupted in the southern Peloponnese, killing 67 men, women and children, many of whom were burned alive as they tried to flee the flames.

The report's release will put further pressure on the recently re-elected conservative government, the popularity of which was badly hit by accusations of ineptitude during the conflagrations.

Alongside mounting anger over the scale of the damage, indignation is rising over the rehabilitation methods officials are resorting to in affected areas. "Everyone, it seems, wants to exploit the situation economically," Nikos Bokaris, the president of the Panhellenic Union of Foresters, said in an interview. "I have been to the stricken region and seen with my own eyes that there is absolutely no coordination of relief efforts. The confusion that allowed the fires to rage uncontrollably is now raging uncontrollably in those areas."

Greeks have been incensed by evidence that investors, scenting profit, are moving in to the Peloponnese, one of the last parts of Greece to have escaped mass tourism.

Ecologists point to a deal that paves the way for construction on up to 10 miles of virgin coastline around the southern seaside town of Zacharo. The deal, signed by the former deputy finance minister Petros Doukas and the mayor of Zacharo, Pantazis Chronopoulos, appears to have gone through, despite the region being on a list of protected sites drawn up by the EU.

The approximately 6,000 people who were made homeless by the fires have also been encouraged to ignore otherwise stringent environmental rules when they apply for housing subsidies. In the absence of a land registry and forest maps, Greeks invariably have been able to build with impunity in areas that would normally be protected.

Trail of destruction

· 300,000 hectares were burnt.

· 30,000 hectares of this were within protected areas.

· Seven designated nature reserves were affected.

· 55% of the razed area consisted of forests and other areas of vegetation.

· Habitats of rare species of golden jackals and red deer were among those destroyed.

· The fires caused a severe degradation of soil and water balance, increasing the risk of flooding.

Outrage in Greece over secret plan to develop land in region ravaged by fires

By Elinda Labropoulou in Athens

Published: 19 September 2007

The Greek government is facing a major embarrassment within days of its re-election after it gave property developers the green light to build on an environmentally sensitive area next to forests ravaged by this summer's deadly fires.

Documents leaked to the Greek press show the finance ministry pushed through an agreement allowing building activity to begin in a protected area in the Southern Peloponnese, the region hardest hit by last month's blazes that killed 67 people and destroyed nearly half a million acres of forest and farmland.

Under heavy criticism for their handling of the inferno, the ruling conservatives blamed the inferno on unscrupulous property developers looking to exploit protected areas. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis vowed to avoid past mistakes where building permits were handed out in fire-affected areas and land was rezoned for construction.

The agreement, revealed this week, covers a valuable coastal zone in Zaharo, the area that accounted for nearly half of the deaths during last month's "national emergency".

The zone includes a rare pine forest, thermal springs, and a nesting area for the endangered loggerhead turtle Caretta-Caretta. Environmental groups say the agreement could come at a huge cost for the area's sensitive ecosystem. The district is protected by the European Union's Natura 2000 scheme, designed to safeguard the most seriously threatened habitats and species.

Greek MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis said the plans could also endanger ¿600m (£410m) in EU funding for fire-stricken areas. "What happened is a crime against nature, committed in order to buy last minute votes prior to the elections," he said.

Mr Papadimoulis has already raised the issue with Athens and Brussels.

"I put a question forward to see whether it violates EU legislation but also whether it could threaten the receipt of EU funding for the fire-stricken areas."

The Greek government has yet to respond.

Dimitris Karavellas, director of WWF Greece, said the continued absence of a proper land registry was at the root of the present crisis. "We are the only country in the EU that doesn't have a land registry," he said. "We get situations where there are forest fires one year and nothing but houses a couple of years later."

The Zaharo deal, if confirmed, would take place in two stages. Firstly, it would legalise nearly 800 buildings that have been illegally constructed in the area over the past 50 years. In the second stage it would permit the construction of hotels, restaurants and recreational facilities. Developers would be allowed to use the land for up to 69 years.

Zaharo's mayor, Pandazis Chronopoulos, who signed the agreement with the finance ministry's Public Real Estate Corporation, says that, if it became law, the agreement would generate much needed money for the reconstruction of the fire-ravaged area. "It would help the redevelopment of the area. We need to recreate a tourism infrastructure. We will fully respect the environment. We are thinking of small-scale tourism development. Maybe a children's camp to start with. And all the money the municipality would get will be reinvested in rebuilding Zaharo".

According to the agreement 75 per cent of the income generated would go to the municipality, the remaining 25 to the finance ministry.

Local engineer Kostas Tzamaloukas, said the people are still numb from the catastrophe "At the polling station on Sunday, one third of the people who were in the queue were wearing black, a sign they had lost a loved one in the fires. This is a small community, people are devastated. They would listen to anyone promising them a way out of the financial disaster."

The ruling New Democracy party held on to power this weekend with a reduced majority.

U.S. experts in Greece to assist in fires crisis

A group of six experts in fighting forest fires and dealing with natural disasters from the United States arrived in Greece on Monday to assist Greek authorities in dealing with the fires crisis and its aftermath, the U.S. Embassy announced.

Among them is the US Forest Service's top fire-fighter and disaster-relief specialists from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The U.S. has also shipped another 250,000 dollars in relief supplies to the Greek Red Cross, which brings the total U.S. government assistance to Greece up to 1.5 million dollars to date.

The purpose of the experts' visit, as agreement with the Greek government, is to provide immediate technical assistance and support to Greece's current response to the catastrophic fires, with particular attention to fire management and rehabilitation of burned landscapes, as well as emergency management systems.

The team will visit the areas where Greek fire and recovery operations are currently underway, and observe operations staff at command locations. Based on its findings, the U.S. Forest Service will propose a longer-term capacity building and technical support program to the government of Greece.

U.S. Navy twice assists Greek firefighters

Twice this summer, the Governor's Office of Chania, asked for U.S. Navy assistance to extinguish brush fires in western Crete, on July 30 and August 23. On both occasions, American firefighters successfully battled flames alongside Greek firefighters.

According to a press release issued on Monday by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Athens, on August 23, around Lakki, Crete, a team of six civilian American firefighters and two U.S. Navy sailors worked with a large number of local Greek fire departments, including a contingent of Hellenic Navy firefighters.

“The fire was approximately 2,000 acres and was threatening to get into the village,” said Todd McKinzie, captain of Souda Bay Emergency Services. In addition to two American emergency vehicles, there were about 30 other fire engines from all over Crete battling the flames around Lakki.

The American civilian and military firefighting team helped contain this brush fire throughout the night, and returned to the U.S. Navy base the next morning. "As firefighters, that's what we're here for,” said McKinzie, “to help prevent loss of life and property.”

Greek diaspora donates 1.2 bln dollars in aid for wildfire-affected regions

The Greek diaspora all over the world have sped to contribute in financial aid to the fire-ravaged regions of Greece.

Through the mobilization of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE), more than 1,200,000 dollars have been collected, until now, worldwide in support of the fire-affected inhabitants of the Peloponnese and the island of Evia in central Greece.

The Greek Australians donated 755,000 dollars.

Greek Canadians donated 200,000 dollars and the SAE countries of the former Soviet Union 200,000 euros.

Information gathered from:
http://www.hellenicnews.com/...

Fire-damaged Olympia to be reforested

ATHENS (AFP) — The Greek Olympic Committee said Wednesday it had accepted an offer from Israel for experts and 10,000 trees to help repair damage caused by fires on Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games.

Greece's President Karolos Papoulias also accepted a proposal from the German city of Munich to reforest the Cronius hill above Olympia which was sacred to ancient Greeks.

Singed by a 12-day fire inferno that killed 65 people around the country, Olympia needs to spruce up ahead of the lighting ceremony of the Olympic flame for the 2008 Games in Beijing.

"(There is) an international effort to restore beauty to the landscape of ancient Olympia ahead of the lighting ceremony in March," the Olympic committee said.

The blaze burned trees behind the Olympia archaeological museum and grass on the slopes of the ancient stadium where thousands attend the lighting ceremony of the torch for the Summer and Winter Games.

Extensive damage was also caused to the Olympic Academy grove where the heart of Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, is buried.

Olympia is a UNESCO world heritage site and the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games, first recorded to have been held here in 776 BC until 393 AD.

The local archaeological site still contains the remains of the stadium, temples, administrative buildings and training halls.

Signifying the spiritual moment of the Games' launch, the Olympic flame has been an integral part of the competition since 1928, and the ceremony conducted every two years in Olympia by young women dressed as ancient Greek priestesses is an eagerly-anticipated element of every Olympics.

After battling to extinguish the worst wildfires on record, Greek officials are battling to light a new fire, the Olympic flame that will be carried from the birthplace of the ancient games to Beijing for next year’s Olympics.

Land policy responsible for fires in Greece

The Guardian 5 September, 2007

The devastating bush fires in Greece have already claimed 63 lives and destroyed many homes and other property. The Greek Government is coming in for strident criticism and large demonstrations have been held across Greece in angry protests. Fire-fighting equipment was dangerously inadequate and the land policies of the governments of both major Greek political parties contributed to the disaster.

In a strong statement the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece, Aleka Papariga called on the people to contribute to the task of combatting the fires sweeping the country, and repeated that its members and organisations were completely at the disposal of the local authorities, agencies and officials, to participate in the fire-fighting efforts, support the inhabitants and contribute to any problems they can.

Regarding the cause of the fires, Aleka Papariga said that these had not arisen suddenly but were created over many years by a series of reactionary laws and measures taken by the successive governments of the ruling New Democracy and main opposition PASOK parties. She said that since 1991, only one-eleventh of burned forests were reforested in Attica and one-ninth in Greece.

Aleka Papariga said that the road to the present inferno was opened by a policy that commercialised land and forests, rewarded land grabbers, undermined prevention and created a huge deficits in equipment, infrastructure and facilities for fire-fighting and forest protection services. Even the country’s Constitution had been revised regarding the protection of forests.

"We are faced with an organised plan", she noted and added that the profits from arsons primarily benefited large economic interests whose "appetite is opened by land commercialisation and privatisation".

Government responsibility

According to the Communist Party statement the government bears huge responsibilities for failing to put up an effective, organised response that might have mitigated the repercussions of the disaster, through prevention and forest protection measures.

Aleka Papariga also said that the social democratic party PASOK seeks only to cover up its own responsibilities and to benefit from the justified popular unrest at the polls.

Aleka Papariga called for:

a full and in-depth listing of the destruction wrought and the areas burnt without any changes in land use

full compensation to farmers for lost crops and livestock

one year’s exemption from insurance contributions and taxes and a freeze on loan payments

full compensation for burnt homes and farm infrastructure, detailed and binding plans for reforestation

free housing for fire victims in nearby hotels

immediate hiring for vacant positions in the fire brigade, forestry services and national health service with permanent rather than seasonal staff, and

work to limit subsequent damage from erosion, flooding etc.

She also demanded that the big private properties on mountains and in forests be turned into public property.

Information gathered from:
http://www.cpa.org.au/garc...

Greek American Wave of Solidarity

Posted by greek_news

New York.- Shaken by news of wildfires tearing through parts of their ancestral home, Greek-Americans around the country are extending a helping hand gathering money and supplies to aid victims in their motherland. Major Greek American organizations including Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, AHEPA, the Council for Hellenes Abroad and the Hellenic-American National Council have opened bank accounts to raise money for relief aid.

In response to the catastrophic fires plaguing Greece, Archbishop Demetrios, convened an emergency meeting of key advisors and staff members to mobilize the resources of the Archdiocese and greater community to respond to the tremendous needs of the people of this devastated nation. It was agreed that His Eminence would appoint a Special Committee of prominent Greek Americans who will oversee and coordinate the collection and distribution of monies raised by the Archdiocese through Her Greek Fire Relief Fund.

“We are witnessing unbelievable losses of lives and property but also of the livelihoods of countless individuals who will need assistance for many years to recover from this calamity” stated the Archbishop. “Greece, the birthplace of democracy, the place where the Olympics Games were born, the cornerstone of Western Civilization is experiencing unprecedented destruction with over 650,000 acres of forest and farmland reduced to ashes and more than 61 lives which have been lost so far. It is our sacred duty and obligation to offer whatever assistance we can at this most critical time” His Eminence reflected.

Following the meeting, the Archbishop, spoke with Mr. Andrew S. Natsios, the United States President’s Special Envoy for Sudan, who accepted to serve as Special Advisor to the Archbishop regarding the relief efforts of the Church in America. Mr. Natsios served as Director for the U.S. Agency for International Development (US Aid) which is the United States government agency that administers economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide. He has enormous experience in the area of offering philanthropic assistance and will employ his great experience and stellar reputation to assure that all funds collected for this disaster are used in the most responsible and efficient manner.

On Monday His Eminence was briefed by Mr. John Negroponte, the United States Deputy Secretary of State who updated the Archbishop about what steps the American government was taking to deal with the tragedy. His Eminence also received a call from the Ambassador of Greece to the United States, the Honorable Alexandros Mallias, in which they discussed the crisis.

A special encyclical was issued by the Eparchial Synod of the Holy Archdiocese which requested all parishes to offer special prayers on behalf of all those who have been adversely affected by this disaster and a special collection will take place in all churches for the Greek Fire Relief Fund of the Archdiocese.

Mrs. Georgia Skeadas, National Philoptochos President, announced today a donation of $50,000 as an immediate response of the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society to the devastating fires in Greece that have destroyed lives, homes and the livelihood of hundreds of families. The donation to the Hellenic Red Cross was presented to His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios.

President Skeadas appealed to Philoptochos members throughout the United States to offer prayers “on behalf of the deceased victims of the fires as well as prayers for the survivors, that our merciful Lord bring them comfort, strength and resolve during these tragic days of the aftermath.” She further implores the members to open their hearts, to be munificent and to give their full support to His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios’ request for a special appeal in all the parishes.

AHEPA
AHEPA held multiple meetings in order to spear-head and coordinate Greek-American relief efforts in Greece. After multiple conversations with the U.S. Department of State, AHEPA President Ike Gulas has formulated and implemented a strategy to take the lead on Greek-American's efforts in assisting Greece during this ordeal. "In times of crisis, everyone, and rightfully so, feels the desire to drop everything and assist, however, if there isn't an established point or lead, then all efforts may not see fruition," said Gulas.

President Gulas has asked all the chapters to begin putting together care packages and send them to AHEPA Headquarters for delivery to the victims. In the event constructing a care package is too time consuming or difficult at this time, please send a check in the amount of $150 to AHEPA Headquarters, and we will do so on your chapter's or individual's behalf.

Moreover, Ambassador Alexandros Mallias, Greece's Ambassador to the U.S., visited last week AHEPA Headquarters and expressed the need of continued immediate and long-term assistance. The situation was described as being the "worst natural disaster" Greece has ever faced. Mallias also thanked AHEPA for its eagerness, willingness and determination to assist.

Via teleconference, President Gulas reiterated AHEPA's commitment to assisting the ongoing effort. Mr. Gulas also informed the Ambassador of its plan of soliciting the assistance of all firefighters willing to travel to Greece in order to fight the fires. "At present, we are working out the logistics, with the U.S. Department of State's guidance, to arrange transportation from the U.S. to Greece," added Gulas.

SAE
With a $50,000 personal donation to the project “Plant Your Roots in Greece,” aimed at victim relief and Greece’s reforestation, the Coordinator of SAE / USA Theodore G. Spyropoulos helped set the pace encouraging the Omogeneia to contribute for the restoration of Greece’s devastated ecosystem. Additional support began pouring in including a $5,000 donation from “Mistras Group Inc.” a company owned by Dr. Soterios and Aspasia Vahaviolos.

More than $32,000 was donated by Chicago's Greek community during a radiothon over Sotiris Rekoumis' Greek Hour Friday morning. The drive was organized by SAE / USA and the funds are contributed through the project Plant Your Roots in Greece.

“The mobilization of America’s Hellenes is immediate and heart rending,” Mr. Spyropoulos said. “It is particularly satisfying to witness the response of the younger generations who are contributing financially and are also forming volunteer groups. There is no doubt in my mind that Greece will resurrect its ecosystem out of the ashes.”

The first Pan American meeting for relief to the victims of the fires and reforestation in Greece was held Tuesday night in a teleconference organized by the World Council of Hellenes SAE / USA and the Hellenic American National Council. The President of AHEPA Mr. Ike Gulas, presidents of Federations-members of SAE and HANC and other donors and volunteers participated in the teleconference.

“The joint teleconference was phenomenal success and showed the value of unity and cooperation among HANC, SAE and AHEPA” says the president of Hellenic American National Council Mr. E. Velivasakis.

A telethon to raise funds on the East Coast was also announced at the meeting by SAE / USA Coordinator Theodore G. Spyropoulos. “The Hellenic media have been very supportive and we are grateful to all of them as they have carried accurate information and have covered our efforts,” he said. “On September 9 we will hold the first telethon on the National Hellenic Channel of America (NGTV) of Dimitri Kastanas, to raise relief and reforestation funds.” The telethon will be held from 2 p.m. to midnight.

In the near future, after total losses from the fires are assessed and major needs are identified, SAE / USA will call a Pan American meeting of leaders, major donors and distinguished Hellenes and phil-Hellenes to meet with Greek Ambassador Alexandros Mallias in Washington, Mr. Spyropoulos stated. “The meeting will aim to accurately inform America’s Hellenes.

“We are already in close contact with the Ambassador, our member organizations, the President of HANC Manolis Velivasakis, Greece’s national television network and various radio and television programs here and in Greece.

On Tuesday, September 4, 2007, the board of the American Hellenic Congress in conjunction with the World Council for Hellenes Abroad (SAE) is organizing a meeting of concerned citizens to explore ways of coordination to help our beloved Greece. The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Banquet Hall of Dimitri’s on the Avenue (formerly the City Tavern) at 14316 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn (between Greenfield and Schaefer) (313-584-1515).

“Plant Your Roots in Greece,” a not-for-profit, tax exempt organization under the auspices of SAE / USA and HANC, offers contribution opportunities both to those who wish to support primarily victims of fire and those who wish to contribute to reforestation.

Depending on individual preference, donors to the relief and reforestation campaign can mail their checks to Chicago Community Bank, 234 S. Wabash Ave. FL2, Chicago, Illinois 60604-2365.

Mail checks to Chicago Community Bank, 234 S. Wabash Ave. FL2, Chicago, Illinois 60604-2365.

Make checks Payable to one of two accounts according to preference:
Plant Your Roots in Greece, Acct. # 459-0070-59, for reforestation. Or,
Plant Your Roots in Greece, Acct. # 2000-0394-84, for relief.
IBAN: 07004158

Anti-flooding measures; new threat caused by fires

ATHENS, Greece: Fears grew Tuesday that flooding could hit charred regions of Greece ravaged by 11 days of devastating forest fires that have left thousands homeless and villages destroyed.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis was to meet cabinet members in Athens Tuesday to decide additional relief measures.

Anti-flooding works were to start Tuesday on the central island of Evia after projects began Monday in the Peloponnese, to the south, concentrated around Ancient Olympia. The archaeological site survived the fires but the surrounding region was badly scorched.

They were the two regions worst hit by fires that burned up to a half-million acres of forest and farmland.

Fires were reported late Monday near Preveza, in west-central Greece, and near Epidaurus to the south. While major fires were all but out, fire officials warned that smoldering embers could easily re-ignite.

Meteorologists were predicting rain for northern and western Greece Tuesday, spreading south by Wednesday. While hopeful of wetter weather, they also feared downpours could cause flooding in fire-ravaged areas. Parts of northern Greece were hit by heavy rains and flooding on Sunday.

The wildfires in Greece also drew the attention of the European Union Monday.

In Strasbourg, France, members of the European Parliament criticized the Greek government's response to the fires and blamed land speculation and mass tourism for the devastation.

"Legal loopholes are in part responsible for these horrible fires. Property speculation must be rejected," said German Green lawmaker Elisabeth Schroedter.

MEPs called for a more efficient and coordinated fire-prevention system in Greece. The debate came as Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis was appealing in Brussels for a more coordinated, EU-wide response mechanism for natural disasters.

Late Monday Petros Molyviatis, a former foreign minister heading up a special fire emergency fund, said Greeks had donated around €62 million euros (US$84.4 million) so far.

The government also announced Monday that more than 45,000 people suffering fire damage had received more than €165 million (US$224 million) from a compensation program launched last week, and that more than 200 people had returned funds they were not entitled to.

Archbishop Christodoulos, the head of the Orthodox Church in Greece and who is in the U.S. receiving cancer treatment, said Monday he believed arson was to blame for many of the fires.

Greek forest fires continue to burn

Forest fires continued to burn in parts of southern Greece while the other main fronts of a series of massive fires have been extinguished, Greece's fire service said.

Fires on Mt Parnon and Mt Taygetos, in the south-eastern Peloponnese, were still burning as strong winds and dry conditions kept fire officials on high alert. Fire Department spokesman Nikos Diamandis said major fires in three other provinces of the Peloponnese had been put out.

The official death toll rose to 65 on Sunday when a seriously burned man on the island of Evia died in a hospital.

Meanwhile the government announced that urgent flood-control measures would be implemented in fire-devastated regions, mainly in the Peloponnese and on the island of Evia, and that prefabricated houses were being distributed by truck to the worst-hit areas.

After months of successive heat waves and no rain, heavy rainstorms have flooded parts of northern Greece. Rain and cooler weather were expected to move south early this week, helping firefighters in their efforts to extinguish any remaining blazes and prevent the possibility of smouldering fires rekindling. However, officials also fear that heavy rains could hamper relief efforts and lead to flooding.

Over a 10-day period, an estimated 4,000 people saw their homes destroyed by the wildfires, which also charred an estimated 469,000 acres of mostly forest and farmland and ravaged the area around the world heritage site of Ancient Olympia.

The fires have prompted a massive relief effort, although Greece's conservative government has faced strong public criticism for its allegedly slow response to the crisis. The public has also responded with massive donations of clothes, food and money.

Conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who faces general elections on September 16, was in the southern town of Tripolis as he continued to survey fire-damaged areas, as did other political party leaders.

The area around Artemida has been badly burnt by the fires

Aid arrives to help Greece after fires

By JOHN F.L. ROSS, Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece - More international aid arrived Monday in support of massive cleanup and reconstruction efforts in Ancient Olympia and other fire-stricken parts of southern Greece.

The U.S. Embassy in Athens said a six-member team of disaster-relief experts had arrived, including specialists from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Forest Service‘s top firefighter.

Greece‘s Finance Ministry said the European Investment Bank was making a $135 million long-term loan to Greece for reconstruction, with more to come.

Fires continued to burn Monday in the southeastern Peloponnese region.

Officials now fear that downpours could cause flooding and hamper relief efforts in fire-stricken areas.

"The state‘s obligation does not stop with the measures we have taken for the relief of our fellow citizens and the fire-hit regions," Karamanlis said in the southern town of Tripolis.

The government said urgent flood-control measures were under way in fire-devastated regions, and that prefabricated houses were being distributed to people whose houses were burned.

The winged statue of victory stands in front of smoke from fires in the village of ancient Olympia, near the birthplace of the Olympic games, in south-west Greece. A huge effort by firefighters, water-dropping aircraft and fire trucks succeeded in keeping a raging blaze away from the 2,800-year-old site - the holiest sanctuary in ancient Greece
Photograph: Petros Giannakouris/AP

Deadly fires finally out in Greece

ATHENS (AFP) — The forest fires that have ravaged southern Greece for the past 11 days, killing dozens of people, were finally extinguished Monday, fire services said.

At least 65 people have been killed in the Peloponnese peninsula and other areas and 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) of countryside have been destroyed since August 24.

"Land forces remain on the alert at the scene to prevent any new outbreak," a fire brigade statement said at the end of a day which saw the last blazes conquered near Sparta, in the southern Peloponnese, and on Mount Parnon.

The fire service had deployed five water-bombing planes and two helicopters to Mount Parnon, which is difficult to access.

Populated areas were not threatened, a fire service spokesman said.

Nearly 100 fires per day were occurring on average last week, amid widespread anger that the government did not intervene soon enough and at the scale required.

The opposition Socialists (PASOK) have roundly attacked the government's handling of the fires with elections set for September 16. Before the tragedy, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis had appeared set for an easy electoral win.

Karamanlis has blamed arson for at least some of the fires, saying action would be taken against those responsible.

An unused fire extinguisher lies in the yard of a burnt house in the village of Rafti 01 September 2007. The forest fires that have ravaged southern Greece for the past 11 days, killing dozens of people, were finally extinguished Monday.


Information gathered from:
http://afp.google.com/a...

Last Main Greece Fire Is Contained

By DEREK GATOPOULOS
The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece -- The last major fire in southern Greece has been brought under control after flaring up again over the weekend, fire officials said Sunday.

Officials also said two other big fires were completely extinguished, leaving only minor fires smoldering in the area.

The blazes had been largely contained for several days but firefighters struggled to prevent them from rekindling and causing more damage. Two villages were evacuated and 23 people were rescued by helicopter Saturday after one fire restarted in Greece's southern Peloponnese region.

Nine firefighting planes and two helicopters helped contain that blaze on Mount Parnon Sunday. Two other fires outside the towns of Megalopoli and Karytaina were out.

Meanwhile, rain was reported across much of northern Greece, with flooding on the Halkidiki peninsula, but it had not reached any areas affected by fires.

Fires have destroyed an estimated 469,000 acres of mostly forest and farmland over the past 10 days, prompting a massive relief effort but also criticism of Greece's government for allegedly responding to the crisis slowly and failing to safely evacuate villages before they were burned.

The death toll rose to 65 Sunday after a man seriously burned in a fire on the island of Evia died in a hospital.

Also Sunday, funeral services were held for a mother and her four children who were killed outside the southern village of Artemida while trying to flee the fires by car on Aug. 24. Four other people also died in the same convoy of cars when it became trapped in flames.

Authorities have not released any damage assessment, but an estimated 4,000 people lost their homes, according to independent estimates based on claims for assistance by individuals and local authorities.

A man herds sheep away from a fire in the village of Kiparissia about 230 kilometers (158 miles) southwest of Athens, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso toured fire damaged areas in southern Greece by helicopter, and promised aid to relieve areas where 64 people died and an estimated 190,000 hectares (469,000 acres) of mostly forest and farmland were destroyed. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)


Information gathered from:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/w...

Main fires out; death toll rises to 65

The Associated Press Published: September 2, 2007


ATHENS, Greece: Three major fires that ravaged southern Greece for 10 days have been put out or brought under control, the Fire Service said Sunday.

The fires destroyed an estimated 190,000 hectares (469,000 acres) — most of it forest and farmland — prompting a massive relief effort but also criticism of Greece's conservative government for failing to safely evacuate villages before they were burned.

The death toll rose to 65 on Sunday when a man seriously burned in a fire on the island of Evia died in a hospital.

Authorities have not released any damage assessment, but an estimated 4,000 people lost their homes according to independent estimates based on claims for assistance by individuals and local authorities.

A Fire Service briefing report Sunday confirmed that two major fires were out and one in the southern Peloponnese region was contained.

Fires outside Megalopoli and Karytaina in the southern Peloponnese region were extinguished, the fire service said, while nine fighting planes and two helicopters had helped contain a blaze on Mount Parnon, further south.



Elsewhere in the region, six planes and four helicopters were involved in containing several other fires, all of which were described as "receding," the agency said.

Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras said on Sunday, "I am in the happy position to announce ... that all the (main) fires have been put out."

Conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who faces general elections on Sept. 16, continued to survey fire-damaged areas, flying by helicopter over the island of Evia.

On Saturday, he flew over the Peloponnese with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who repeated European Union promises to provide Greece financial aid — likely to include €200 million (US$237 million) in emergency assistance and possibly a further €400 million (US$546 million) later.

"No one can remain the same after such events," Karamanlis was quoted as saying in an interview published Sunday in the Athens daily Kathimerini. He blamed the fires on arsonists.

"So many fires breaking out at the same time in different places. This cannot be a coincidence," Karamanlis said, reiterating his comments of last week.

A GPO poll for private Mega television gave the conservatives 37.4 percent approval, a 1.4 point lead over the opposition Socialists, based on a survey of 1,005 people questioned Friday. No margin of error was given. The conservatives won the 2004 elections with a 4.8-point advantage.

Greece buries fire victims, hopes for autumn rain

By Michele Kambas

ARTEMIDA, Greece (Reuters) - Sobbing villagers on Sunday buried a Greek mother and her four children who died in destructive forest fires, as the first autumn rains raised hopes of dousing the flames that have killed 64 people.

Storms in northern Greece flooded two villages as firefighters continued to battle blazes in the southern Peloponnese region. Rains were expected across Greece from Sunday night.

"The burnt forests contributed to the floods, which swept cars into the sea," said fire brigade officer Giorgos Minos in the northern Halkidiki peninsula.

In the village of Artemida, perched on a charred Peloponnese mountain, about 200 villagers attended the funeral of the mother found dead still clutching her children, the most shocking image of the inferno's trail of destruction.

"I have run out of tears. Will it bring her and the children back?" said Loukia Papadimitropoulos, 64, one of black-clad villagers who sobbed as a string of hearses carried the white coffins to the village church.

The fires have raged for 10 days, forcing thousands to flee their homes, burning villages and large swathes of forest. On Sunday, an injured man died in hospital, raising the death toll to 64, including 7 firemen.

Fires under control except Mount Parnon

ATHENS (AFP) — A fire raged in Mount Parnon near the Greek town of Sparta for a ninth day Sunday but other blazes in the devastated Mediterranean country were under control, the fire services said.

Four water-bombing planes and a helicopter were deployed early Sunday to battle the blames around Mount Parnon but no villages were threatened, a spokesman for the fire service said.

"This day will be difficult again because we expect strong winds in the country's west, including the Peloponnese," he said but underlined that temperatures were expected to be lower in the Athens region.

The Peloponnese inferno started on August 24 in the wake of a heatwave, the third to hit Greece since the beginning of the summer. The fires have claimed at least 63 lives and destroyed 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) of forests and farmland.

Greece was plunged into a national disaster as villages were consumed by flames that moved faster than a car and people were burned to death as they attempted to escape.

Two other planes and three helicopters were meanwhile dispatched Sunday to fight fires in the ancient town of Megalopolis and Karytaina in the central region of Arcadia and nearby Messenia, he said.

The official said three other fires which broke out nine days ago in the island of Eubee were still burning but under "partial control."

Two other blazes in Ionnina and Kilkis had been contained but a new one that broke out on Saturday in the northern prefecture of Imathia would be put under control later in the day, he added.

EU Head Sees Greek Fire Damage From Air

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso toured fire-damaged southern Greece by helicopter Saturday and promised aid for areas where 64 people died and an estimated 469,000 acres of mostly forest and farmland were destroyed.

Though largely contained, fires forced the evacuation of two villages and the helicopter rescue of firefighters surrounded by flames, according to the Fire Service, which also said high temperatures and strong winds continued to plague its efforts.

"We are with you and we will stay with you ... we will do everything we can to support Greece," Barroso said after a two-hour tour of the ravaged Peloponnese peninsula with Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis. "The Greek problem is a European problem. ... Now we must rebuild what has been destroyed."

On Friday, the European Union said Greece would probably receive $237 million in emergency aid and could be eligible for another $546 million. The damage is estimated at more than $1.6 billion.

Barroso said aid would be paid out of the EU's Solidarity Fund, created in 2002 to deal with major natural disasters. "We can, if necessary, mobilize other funds," he said.

All major fires in the Peloponnese and the island of Evia have been generally contained since Wednesday — after burning for a week — but firefighters continue to battle blazes that have destroyed more homes and forced village evacuations.

Saturday's worst fire was on Mount Parnon in the southern Peloponnese, where two villages were evacuated and 23 firefighters and local residents were rescued by helicopter.

"They were trapped in a rugged area, and their life was in danger. ... They were transferred safely to a sports stadium," Fire Service spokesman Nikos Diamantidis said.

Diamantidis said weather conditions were expected to worsen Saturday, with temperatures reaching 104 degrees.

"This is a particularly difficult and dangerous day, with winds set to strengthen. This combined with high temperatures requires a high degree of activity from the (Fire Service)," Diamantidis said.

The Public Power Corporation said it had restored electricity to dozens of villages, after repairing damaged power lines and installing emergency generators. About 35 villages remained blacked out, the state-run company said.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, left, shows aerial photographs to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso during a flight in a rescue helicopter to inspect damage by wildfires in Greece's southern Peloponnese region, in this photograph released by the Greek prime minister's office, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007. The European Union has promised Greece financial aid to assist Greek government efforts after fires killed 64 people and destroyed an estimated 190,000 hectares of farmland, and forest. (AP Photo/Greek Prime Minister's Office, Willy Antoniou, HO)

Strong winds cause more fires in Greece

Saturday, 1 September 2007 17:40

Strong winds are reported to have reinvigorated forest fires in parts of Greece.

Authorities say winds and high temperatures have led to new fires breaking out.

More than a week after the start of blazes that have ravaged land across the country, killing at least 63 people and forcing thousands from their homes, two fire fronts are still burning on the southern Peloponnese Peninsula.

A helicopter has rescued five firefighters and 17 civilians who had been fighting a blaze in the Parnonas mountain region.

It is expected that it will take several days to bring the fires under control.

Temperatures rising to 40C and strong winds are hindering the battle against the fires.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis toured the devastated areas today with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Estimates of damage to the economy range from €1.2bn to €4bn.

The Commission has said it could provide up to €200m from the EU 'solidarity fund'.

The Greek opposition socialist PASOK party has slammed Mr Karamanlis's handling of the disaster.

Many villages had to face the fires without help for several days.

But the Prime Minister, who said arsonists were to blame, has called for national unity. His administration has doled out at least €107m in compensation so far.

The last opinion polls showed his ruling New Democracy party keeping around a two percentage point lead over PASOK but support for both parties has waned since the fires began.

A general election will be held on 16 September.

Information gathered from:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0901/greece.html

Greek Fires Destroy Olive Trees, Cutting Olive Oil Production

By Marianne Stigset

Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Greece's worst forest fires in history may have destroyed as many as 5 million olive trees, cutting production in the world's third-largest olive oil supplier and threatening to reduce output for years, an industry group said.

As much as 5 percent of this year's harvest may be lost, according to the group, Sevitel. A week of fires has killed at least 63 people and ravaged about 250,000 acres (101,200 hectares) of forest and farmland, Greenpeace Greece estimated. The Peloponnese peninsula, which generates 30 percent to 40 percent of the country's 9 billion-euro ($12.3 billion) olive oil market, is the worst affected.

The damage may reduce output to 285,000 metric tons and will devastate the economies of Peloponnese villages, which on average get as much as 60 percent of their income from olive farming, according to Sevitel, an association of producers and processors. Olive trees, which were cultivated by the Minoans of ancient Crete in 3500 B.C., can take 15 years to reach optimal production, the organization said.

``It's the first time in the history of this country that we have such an environmental disaster,'' Nikos Charalambides, director of Greenpeace Greece, said in a phone interview from Athens yesterday. ``Hundreds of people have lost their farmland, their animals. The olive trees will need years to grow.''

It may take a decade for people living off olive farming in the stricken areas to get their earnings back to prior levels, Gregory Antoniadis, the president of Sevitel and spokesman for Elais-Unilever SA, a Greek olive oil exporter, said from Athens.

Homes, Jobs

At least 2,500 people have been left homeless by the fires, which may lead to labor shortages and loss of expertise in the industry, Charalambides said.

More than 250 blazes have spread across central and southern Greece since Aug. 24, requiring the biggest firefighting operation in Europe since World War II. Early estimates set the cost of damage to farmland at 1.5 billion euros, Greek newspaper Express reported this week, citing unidentified government officials. Greece has experienced more wildfires this month than any European country in the past decade, according to the European Space Agency.

Greece, the largest olive oil producer after Spain and Italy, accounts for 13 percent of the global market, according to Rabobank Groep, the world's biggest farm lender. The country produces on average 300,000 tons a year, Antoniadis said. A 5 percent output cut would represent a loss of about 45 million euros, at current prices.

Spain Key

The drop in Greek production is unlikely to affect prices because of rising output in Spain and Italy this year, Rabobank said.

``What's really important is what happens in Spain, the world's top producer,'' Vito Martielli, a food and agribusiness analyst with Rabobank, said by phone from Utrecht, the Netherlands, on Aug. 29. ``Olives have a biannual production cycle and this year, production in Italy and Spain will be very high.''

Production increases in Spain and Italy would more than offset any decline in Greece, helping lift global output potentially by as much as 7.1 percent to about 3 million tons in the next season, which runs from November to March, Martielli said. That would be the highest since 2003-2004, he said.

Prices have dropped about 25 percent to 3 euros a kilogram since 2005-2006, when frost hit the main producing countries, according to Martielli.

Spain produced an estimated 1.1 million tons this season, 39 percent of the market, followed by Italy, which produced 630,000 tons, according to Rabobank. Greece produced 370,000 tons, more than half of which was exported to Italy, the world's biggest consumer.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marianne Stigset in London at mstigset@bloomberg.net

All Major Blazes Under Control

(08-31) 07:47 PDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) --

All major blazes in Greece were under control Friday, and firefighters were working to extinguish smaller fires in the southern part of the country.

One week after hundreds of wildfires broke out across Greece, killing 64 people and costing the country at least $1.6 billion, the fire department said the last major fire near the town of Kato Kotyli "no longer has an active front and is receding."

But it warned in an announcement that just because "we are in a phase where fires are receding, that does not mean that the danger has been eliminated."

Meanwhile, thousands of people lined up outside banks for a third day to receive emergency aid, and the government said 20,000 people received a total of $98 million since banks started to hand out the funds Wednesday.

But officials said they would tighten checks on the fast-track aid process after at least 15 people were arrested in the southwestern city of Pyrgos for allegedly making false claims.

Initial government estimates indicate at least 1,500 homes were gutted in the southern Peloponnese peninsula and on the island of Evia, just north of Athens. But there are concerns that figure could double. At least 4,000 people were left homeless, but that number also could double.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who faces a close race for re-election in less than three weeks, promised to rebuild all homes destroyed by the fires through a new disaster relief fund made up of state and private contributions. He said homeless families would initially be provided with prefabricated homes.

Karamanlis did not say how much that would cost.

The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Danuta Hubner, flew over the burned regions Friday to assess ho