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.

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...

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)

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 how much aid Greece needed. She said after meeting Karamanlis that Greece would probably receive $237 million in emergency aid and could be eligible for another $546 million, depending on the damage caused by the fires.

"The European Commission is determined to explore all possible means of support and assure the mobilization of available funds in order to help," she said.

A help line set up for fire victims and offers of help has received tens of thousands of calls, mostly from people who want to contribute aid. Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said private donations from Greeks has amounted to more than $52 million. The government has so far budgeted around $450 million for such aid.

The fires are dominating political debate before the Sept. 16 elections. Criticism that the government failed to respond quickly enough — and its suggestions the fires resulted from an organized attack — could hurt Karamanlis.

A series of polls have indicated that the conservatives had a razor-thin margin over George Papandreou's main opposition Socialist Party.

Greeks Crowd Into Banks, Seeking Cash After Fires

By REUTERS

PYRGOS, Greece, Aug. 30 (Reuters) — Thousands of Greeks besieged banks on Thursday, clamoring for state compensation for damage caused by the country’s worst wildfires, a few of which still burned one week into the crisis.

People were taking advantage of a program granting them an instant $4,000 by showing identification and signing a form at banks in affected areas, a simple procedure the government says shows that it is reacting quickly to the fires, which have killed 63 people.

Critics who condemned the center-right government for what they called its initial inability to prevent or extinguish the fires said its compensation system, instituted less than three weeks ahead of parliamentary elections, was open to widespread fraud.

“Who are all these people?” asked Ourania Fotopoulou, as at least 400 people lined up outside a bank here, a provincial capital in the stricken Peloponnesian peninsula. “I don’t recognize a single one of them and I have lived here all my life.”

Many people in the lines spoke with accents from outside the region, and some admitted that they had come from as far away as Athens and Thessaloniki, which is about 370 miles to the north.

A government spokesman said that the forms would be checked later and that anyone committing fraud would be punished. On Wednesday alone, banks handed over more than $33 million.

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis said the simplified system was the right thing. “The order is ‘move fast,’ without any delay,” he said at a news briefing. “We’re removing bureaucratic hurdles. Nothing should stand in the way of us doing our duty.”

The government’s handling of the crisis has become a central issue for Mr. Karamanlis’s campaign as the Sept. 16 election approaches. Kathimerini, a center-right newspaper, said he needed to recover from initial impotence in the face of the fires.

“The first round, that is the fight against the fires, was lost because of the poor performance of the state apparatus,” it said. “The second round, that of reconstruction, has only just begun. It will be an uphill struggle within a tight time frame.” A cartoon in the newspaper showed a helicopter flying over scorched countryside dropping bank notes from a water bucket while the pilot says, “Yes, Prime Minister, as agreed, we’re dropping 100-euro bills so the land will turn green again.”

Vast areas of countryside burned, and more than 500 homes were destroyed by the fires, Europe’s most extensive in a decade, according to the European Space Agency.

On Thursday, some fires raged on, one in the western Peloponnesian peninsula, another on the island of Euboea, north of Athens.

The fires will cost Greece at least $1.6 billion, according to a government minister, and Athens plans to use emergency aid from the European Union. Private citizens have already donated almost $52 million to a disaster relief fund.

This information was gathered from:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/0...

Greek Fires Start to Subside

ATHENS, Greece, August 29, 2007 (ENS) - Firefighters are beginning to gain ground against the worst forest fires to strike Greece in more than a century, but only after the blazes claimed 64 lives and charred much of Ilia prefecture on the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece.

The country remains in the state of emergency and suspicion is rife that arsonists are to blame for more than half of the wildfires. To date, seven people have been arrested and charged with arson, including one person who is accused of setting fires at Zacharo, a village in Ilia where 37 people perished last week trying to escape the flames.

Two new wildfires broke out in northwest Ioannina prefecture today, and some large fires are still burning, but many others have been doused by firefighters and aircraft from across Europe. Greek firefighters are getting reinforcements of about 120 men from Cyprus, France and Israel.

Wednesday, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis expressed the gratitude of all Greeks to the firefighters and called them heroes.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis promises cash to fire victims. (Photo courtesy Office of the Prime Minister)

Quick cash was made available to anyone who declared they had been harmed by the fire by Karamanlis' conservative government concerned about retaining power in elections slated for September 16.

The prime minister said emergency allocations of 3,000 euros (US$4,096) per affected household were to be made "without delay," upon only "a simple solemn statement of the beneficiary, with only one signature."

Greeks have suffered enough, he said, without being made to suffer more by bureaucratic processes.

Banks are offering debt forgiveness for those who have lost close relatives or suffered major losses of property. Credit card and loan payments are being deferred for borrowers in fire-ravaged areas.

Main opposition leader George Papandreou, visited Zacharo on Saturday, but refrained from criticizing the government. His party, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, suspended its weekend campaigning and pledged 30 percent of the party's election funds to people hurt by the wildfires in the Peloponnese.

Wildfires have plagued Greece since July, but since Thursday at least 190 fires broke out across southern Greece, and also near Athens, Sparta and other cities. Fire singed the edges of ancient Olympia, site of the first Olympic games, but was stopped before the ancient monuments were destroyed.

Firefighters are still battling blazes across southern Greece and on Evia island, off eastern continental Greece, and fire officials fear the rekindling of wildfires where they already have been doused.

Some villages on the Peloponnese peninsula are still being evacuated today. Homes in more than 100 villages were destroyed and many families lost livestock and olive trees. Damages are estimated in the billions of euros.

Silent demonstrators outside the Greek Parliament building in Athens. August 29, 2007 (Photo by Constantin)

In Athens, thousands of people gathered outside the parliament buildings in protest of the government's slow and inadequate response to the fires. They expressed resentment at the "false statements of Karamanlis" from this past March that supposedly Greece was ready to face fires expected in the summer, while the government allocated only "minimal means" to fight them.

Weather conditions, including record summer temperatures and hot dry winds, have made Greece and southern Italy a tinderbox, said the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Greece has experienced more wildfire activity this August than other European countries have over the last decade, according to data from sensors aboard European Space Agency satellites.

Working like thermometers in the sky, the sensors measure thermal infrared radiation to take the temperature of Earth's land surfaces. Data from July 1996 to August 28, 2007 were used to plot the number of fires occurring monthly. Results show Greece has had four times the number of fires this August as were burning in August 1998.

Burned over land at Zacharo, where 37 people died trying to flee last week. (Photo credit unknown)

The data from these sensors is compiled to create the ATSR World Fire Atlas, which provides data to online users approximately six hours after acquisition. All available satellite passes are processed for the atlas.

In addition to maps, the time, date, longitude and latitude of the hot spots are provided. The data are meant to be used for research and especially for fire prevention and management.

But a report today in the "Economist" says Greek forestry officials were hampered by "lack of access to satellite pictures that could have enabled fire-fighters to find and douse blazes before they caused serious damage."

In 2000, the European Space Agency and the French space agency formed the International Charter Space and Major Disasters, which rapidly creates tasks for earth observation satellites and delivers the resulting spacemaps to emergency response and civil protection authorities anywhere in the world.

Finally today, the Hellenic national mapping and survey agency, part of the Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works, requested spacemaps of the Greek fires from the International Charter.

Information gathered from:
http://www.ens-newswire.com...

Seven charged over Greek fires

Greek authorities have charged seven people with starting a number of forest fires that have so far claimed 63 lives.

Anti-terrorist authorities said they were joining the investigation, and it is thought one possible motive could be that unscrupulous property developers were hoping to move in on the areas where forest has been destroyed.

This comes as firefighters backed by an international force battled the flames for a fifth day.

Meanwhile, Greek opposition MPs have attacked the government's response to the devastating fires.

In the capital, Athens, hundreds of people took to the streets in protest, many blaming the government.

Information gathered from: http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0828/greece.html

Fires in Greece Pictures 2007

UPDATE:
Wednesday October 10th, 2007


Residents trying to extinguish a burning house in the village of Smerna. Some of the raging fires, spread by dry winds, have been blamed on arsonists. In Areopolis, a town in the southern Peloponnese, a 65-year-old man was arrested and charged with arson and multiple counts of homicide in a fire that killed six people.

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

Fire approaches houses at the village of Kalyvia, south of Athens

Men using a tractor try to extinguish a fire near ancient Olympia

A helicopter drops water in the forest over the Pelopio village near ancient Olympia

A man leaves the burning village near ancient Olympia

UPDATE:
Wednesday September 19th, 2007

2 / 10

Greek soldiers evacuate an old man from a village near ancient Olympia

UPDATE:
Wednesday September 5th, 2007

mountains over ancient Olympia

Firefighters saved the temples and stadiums of ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games, from forest fires that razed nearby villages and claimed the life of 60 people.

Building on forest land is forbidden in Greece, but unscrupulous developers are blamed for setting the fires in an effort to circumvent the law by disputing the area’s status. Greece has no land registry, so once a region has been burned and cleared, there is no definitive proof of whether it was initially forest, farm or field.

Tuesday September 4th, 2007

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Many parts of Greece have been struggling to cope with devastating fires that have killed more than 50 people.

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Farmers have seen their crops - and livelihoods - burning ferociously.

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Fires are affecting the capital, Athens, too. This picture of the Athens sky was sent to the BBC by Ava Babili.

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Konstantinos Topalidis also took pictures in the Greek capital. "It feels like snowing ashes and it is quite smoky," he says.

Monday September 3nd, 2007

BBC News website readers have sent in their photos of the fires in Greece. This one, from Aris Vidalis, shows how Athens looked on Saturday.

Dimitris Koukoulakis sent this photo from the village of Kalamos, north of Athens, overlooking the fires at Evia. Later the view disappeared as the smoke got thicker

"On Sunday we went to the sea for a swim. The sea was a different colour because of the countless pieces of coal and ash in it," said Mr Koukoulakis.

Moses Altsech, who sent this photo of fires in an affluent suburb of Athens, says that the government was not well prepared for the disaster.

"I went to the roof of my house to take pictures of the smoke in the sky. Everything was covered in ash," said Nassis Sarris, who took this picture.

Spyros Papanastasiou was observing a fire spreading quickly on one side of the road, when he noticed that another one started in the opposite direction."

"I was on the way to Gythio which is near Areopolis and I was standing beside the road just outside Oitilo," said Constantinos Vergos, who took this photo.

The sun set beneath a wall of smoke from the many fires around Athens. (Photo: Philip M Evans)

UPDATE:
Sunday September 2nd, 2007


The fires have covered Athens in white ash, forced thousands to flee their villages...


... and burned about 500 homes



But there will be enormous relief that the fires have not engulfed the Olympic museum, housing a number of famous classical sculptures such as Hermes by Praxiteles and other finds from the ruins of the temples and sports facilities.



Fire brigades evacuated hundreds of villages on the southern Peloponnese peninsula


Fires clearly visible from space

Firefighters managed to save the site of ancient Olympia - birthplace of the Olympics

Several EU countries have sent their own firefighers and equipment to help battle the country's worst forest fires in decades.


Firefighters are continuing to battle forest fires raging across southern Greece

In Athens, too, major fires encroached on the city, and aircraft were called in to help dampen the flames.

Fire services were stretched to the limit. Helicopters tried to douse the flames in the Peloponnese region, but high winds hampered the use of planes.

Dozens of people were caught up in the advancing flames, in their homes, or as they tried to flee in cars or on foot.

At dawn near Zaharo, in western Greece, forest fires continued to burn ferociously after a prolonged heatwave and drought. The daylight would bring horror to the town.

Smoke rose behind a beach last week on the Peloponnesian peninsula in Greece. With a barrage of deadly fires mostly extinguished or contained, tourists are returning.



A Canadair firefighting airplane sprays water over a fire in the village of Kyparissia on the Peloponnese peninsula. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso pledged EU support for Greece here Saturday as firefighters tackled the remains of an eight-day inferno that has killed at least 63 people

This picture released by the Greek Prime Minister's Office shows Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis(R) bidding farewell to President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso after their meeting in Athens. Barroso pledged EU support for Greece here Saturday as firefighters tackled the remains of an eight-day inferno that has killed at least 63 people

Firefighters battle blaze on the outskirts of Karytena on the Peloponnese peninsula. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso pledged EU support for Greece here Saturday as firefighters tackled the remains of an eight-day inferno that has killed at least 63 people.

Firefighters battle blaze on the outskirts of Karytena on the Peloponnese peninsula, 01 September. 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.

Planes douse a blaze on the outskirts of Karytena on the Peloponnese peninsula, 01 September. 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.

Smoke and flames from a forest fire are seen behind the houses of a village in south Peloponnese, about 350 km (217 miles) from Athens, August 26, 2007. Weak zoning laws, careless farmers and smoldering garbage dumps are the main reasons for the forest fires that have killed 63 and destroyed whole rural economies in Greece in recent days, Greenpeace said on Monday.

A wreath sits on a burnt firefighting truck outside the village of Artemida on the Peloponnese peninsula. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso headed to Athens to "show solidarity" with Greeks traumatised by forest fires which have killed scores of people and surged once again on Friday

A Greek Red Cross member walks next to the burnt car of Artemida's village mayor at Peloponnese peninsula. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso headed to Athens to "show solidarity" with Greeks traumatised by forest fires which have killed scores of people and surged once again on Friday.

Daily Satellite Images of Fires

What Can I Do To Help?

Since the blaze begun many fund raisers have started across the world to help those without homes, re-forestation, lost pets, etc.

Western Canada's Greek consul George Aravositas said the fire is expected to cause more than $1.2 billion in damage. Every little bit helps including your contribution.

If you wish to volunteer your time, please click here to find out how you can physically donate your time and energy to this cause.

Below is a list of genuine fund-raisers started by various organizations around the world.


Facebook:

If you have a facebook account please consider:

Campaign for reforestation of areas in Greece destroyed by forest fires.
(click here to donate)

Our mission is to contribute to the reforestation of Greece.

Description:
The fires that have broken out in many areas of Greece have ruined people's lives and homes. Many speculate that people have started these fires deliberately to criticize the Greek government, to influence the upcoming elections, or to cause chaos.

Whatever the motive or their cause, the fires are devastating for the people of Greece, who are losing family members, firefighters, homes, land, sacred ancient sites, and faith in their country. The Greek-American "Plant Your Roots in Greece" is a non-profit foundation which has started a reforestation campaign to restore the beauty of the country and to strengthen the bonds between Greek-Americans and their homeland.

Please contribute to this foundation and do what you can to support the efforts to rebuild Greece. Below is a letter on the official website from Theodoros Spyropoulos, president of the foundation, US coordinator and Vice President of the Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE). http://www.saeusa.org/content/view/81/65/lang,en/

HelpGreeceNow.org
(click here to donate)

The summer of 2007 in Greece has been the worst year to date for fires raging out of control, destroying homes, livestock, trees and tragically lives. In the most recent and fiercest battle yet, fires have claimed at least 63 lives to date and the number is estimated to climb once the fires have been extinguished and homes are searched for those left behind. Many of whom perished protecting their livelihood or were simply too old or sick to evacuate. The terrain of many of these villages is not what we are accustomed to, and unless you have visited such areas, it may be difficult to imagine why this happened and the destruction so profound. Many are villages where people work and live off their land and their livestock. They are beautiful modest and picturesque villages built on the mountainous landscape surrounded by trees and fresh air and pure water. But no more.

Now they are villages burned, charred and their people must attempt to rebuild, salvage and try to determine how they will go on living with no home, no belongings and no means of income now or for the future. Acres and acres of land used to cultivate, grow and sell products has been destroyed. Generations of olive trees, orchards, livestock and other means of livelihood completely gone. The long term effects of this ecological and financial disaster are devastating.

This website is offering a wristband that you can wear in pride as a supporter of this cause. 100% of the profits will go to benefit those who lost so much in these devastating fires. .

Greece gave us so much. Its people, our people need our help. Please donate in any manner you feel is appropriate.

Greek Relief Fund:
(click here to donate)

The Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC (HCC(BC)), in coordination with the Hellenic Community of Vancouver, has initiated the Greek Fire Relief Program which is aimed at assisting the victims of one of the worst disasters to strike Greece in modern history.

A Press Conference has been called for Thursday, August 30th at 12 noon at the SFU Campus in Downtown Vancouver. This modern day Greek tragedy hits close to home for all Greeks across British Columbia. Most have loved ones visiting or living in Greece’s Peloponnese and Evia Regions. The fortunate ones have been able to contact their relatives and have heard of their courageous attempts fighting fires that have so rapidly incinerated much of Greece. Others sit and wait by the telephone for a sign of life from anyone.
“The Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC’s response to this horrendous disaster has begun; the infrastructure is almost near completion and the funds that British Columbians donate will be used to aid those in most dire need,” says Demitrios Douzenis, Greek Fire Relief Program Chair, adding “the press conference will highlight the various ways people from around the province can donate to this cause.”

“The Hellenes of BC are deeply saddened by the tragedy unfolding in Greece. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost their way of life and we commend the heroic efforts of local and international firefighters alongside the Greek population,” stated Peter P. Kletas, President of the Hellenic Community of Vancouver. “One of the smallest European countries that plays the perfect host to millions of tourists from around the world each year, a country that has touched so many people with its culture, way of life and emphasis on family, is now in need for the world to give a little back,” cites Alex Peter Tsakumis, President of the HCC(BC).

The HCC(BC) represents the social, political, and cultural interests of Greeks across BC, while the Hellenic Community of Vancouver maintains the province’s largest Greek community. Information on donating can be found at www.greekrelief.ca, which will go live Thursday afternoon. For over 20 years, the Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC, a non-governmental organization, has been an advocate of unity for Canadians of Greek decent, a promoter of Hellenism, a campaigner for inter-group cooperation, and a cohesive voice for Greeks in BC.

Media Contact
Jenny Siormanolakis
778 688 7252

Red Cross
(seeking clothing, tents, toothpaste, food, ect.)
(click here to donate)

FIRES IN GREECE - 24 AUGUST 2007
up to date SITUATION REPORT No 1, -
PRELIMINARY EMERGENCY APPEAL
27 August 2007

Greece has been experiencing an ordeal, since Friday the 24th of August 2007, when a number of wildfires started burning forests and villages in most of Peloponnesus peninsula, namely regions of the Prefectures of Helia, Messinia, Achaia, Lakonia, Argolida, Korinthia and Evia Island. The situation on the 26th deteriorated with more new fires in different regions of the country.

Update, Monday the 27th the situation is still devastating most of the affected areas. These fires have already burned hundreds of thousands of square km of forest areas, olive groves as well as a vast number of residences in villages in the above mentioned areas. On Saturday the 25th the Prime Minister declared Greece in a state of emergency. International assistance has been requested from several countries in fire-fighting means. In addition to these damages the death toll seems to have no ending. The number has risen to approximately 63 causalities, for the time being, while there are serious fears that this number will rise again, since there are people still missing. Many people have been in need of first aid, psychological support and medical care due to burns, traumas and respiratory problems.

Moreover, as a result of the fires a lot of regions - not only the affected ones – face breakdowns in telecommunication, power (electricity) and water supply. There is a great number of people who have been left homeless, however, it is too early to measure the extent of the damages and the affected populations, since the disastrous fires are still ongoing.

Bank of Greece
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Relief for the victims of the recent fires.

The General Council of the Bank of Greece, which convened extraordinarily on Sunday 26 August 2007 by invitation of its Chairman Mr Nicholas C. Garganas, expresses its profound sorrow for the victims of the recent fires ravaging the country and for the enormous economic and ecological disaster they have caused. It was decided that the Bank will contribute the amount of €5,000,000 to the restoration effort and the aid of victims. By virtue of Ministry of Economy and Finance decision 2/53006/27.08.2007, a

"Hellenic Republic-Relief Account for Fire Victims" with ΙΒΑΝ GR9801000230000002341103053 and SWIFT/BIC: BNGRGRAA has already been opened at the Bank of Greece, Government Accounts Section. The above mentioned contribution of the Bank was deposited in this account, which will also receive any amounts deposited for this purpose by individuals and institutions with banks in Greece and abroad.

GreekBoston.com
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GreekBoston will collect funds and make all arrangements, including the names of each individual donator, to submit to the official fund setup for this fire disaster relief. We will also list all donators here so please help today! If you would like to donate a care package or anything non-monetary, please check back here for instructions on where to donate.

Generous Donors: George Pissimissis - Hyannis, MA Digital HiFi Inc - Wesley Chapel, FL Katina Sidiropoulou - Sweden Jeannie Green - Grants Pass, OR John Kontos - Miami Beach, FL Caroline Kalogeropoulos - Boston, MA Neeloofar Jenks - Seattle, WA Georgia Flamburis - Allston, MA

In addition to our efforts, SAE has posted information for contributions below:

SAE / USA is appealing to all Hellenes to contribute whatever you can to the bank account listed below to provide relief, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to families victimized by the fires and to fund reforestation of devastated areas through the SAE / USA project “Plant Your Roots in Greece.”

Please make your contributions payable to “Plant Your Roots in Greece” and send to:

Chicago Community Bank Acct: # 459-0070-59
234 S Wabash Ave FL2-Chicago, IL 60604-2365

Deposits in Greece:
Alpha Bank Acct: # 143-0021-1-037288
Eurobank Acct: # 0026.0012.39.0100763237

Videos, Pictures, and More

1.09.2007 EC chief Jose Manuel Barroso has visited Greece as firefighters continue to battle rekindled wildfires.