The fire is subsiding, but it is not yet fully contained, said Deputy Minister for Civil Protection & Crisis Management Nikos Hardalias on Friday, speaking of a fire that broke out Wednesday evening and has crossed prefectures.
The minister was speaking from the Papagianneika community west of Megara in Attica, where the fire reached after starting in Schinos, in the Loutraki area of Corinth prefecture.
Most fire fronts are receding, “but the landscape’s uneven terrain does not help,” the minister noted. Fire Brigade forces by land and by air will continue their efforts at night. “The greatest problem is at this place here, but I think everything will work out. We will be working through the night,” Hardalias asserted.
Fire Brigade’s spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis also confirmed the situation is improving but expressed concern about the potential resurgence of some fire pockets on Saturday, in statements to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency. All fire fighting forces are on high alert, he stressed.
The fire is contained at the Papagianneika and Kalkani communities in the area of Pefkeneas, where residents evacuated earlier on Friday as a precaution, he added.
Meanwhile, battling the fire around the Gerania mountains are a total of 278 firefighters are deployed, with 89 firetrucks, 10 rough terrain groups from the army, and 18 dowsing planes with 3 helicopters, in addition to water trucks and other auxiliary vehicles and the help of volunteers. The operation is being coordinated by the mobile operations center ‘Olympos’ which is in the vicinity.
