Greece wildfires prompt evacuations
Greece wildfires prompt evacuations
05 August 2013
published by www.presstv.ir
Greece — Wildfires are sweeping throughout areas of Greece, forcing massive evacuations after burning down some ten houses, an official says.
Over 60 firefighters with 14 fire trucks and eight water-dropping aircrafts were deployed to extinguish a raging fire in the city of Avra, near Marathon and some 50 kilometers from the capital city of Athens, officials said on Tuesday.
The blaze broke out on Monday after a car crashed into an electricity pole, a state official said.
The fire spread fast due to adverse weather conditions and strong winds, forcing authorities to declare a massive evacuation of the area after several homes went up in flames.
Elsewhere, over 50 firefighters and seven aircrafts have been deployed to battle a forest fire in the central Fokida region.
Authorities have yet to release information regarding casualties in the Greek fires.
Wildfires are a common sight in Greece during the summers.
In 2007, over 70 people died in some 3,000 wildfires that destroyed an estimated 10,000 hectares of land across Greece.
