Forest fire clouds Athens skyline

Forest fire clouds Athens skyline

17 August 2007

published by news.scotsman.com

A FOREST fire fanned by strong winds swept across the northern Athens suburbs yesterday, burning dozens of homes, cars and fire tenders, while power cuts hit parts of the Greek capital.

The fire started at around 7:30am and was raging down Mount Penteli, 13 miles north of Athens, sending a thick dark cloud across the city and leaving the smell of charred wood in the air.

“The fire has burnt houses, mainly in the Nea Penteli area,” fire brigade spokesman Evangelos Falaras said. “We are mainly battling it on the ground because planes and helicopters cannot drop water to the core of the fire because of winds and the thick smoke.”