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☆ Greece wildfires: A losing battle to save the lungs of Athens
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Eleni Giokos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The national park, known as the "lungs of Athens" is now home to a battle to repel wildfires. Now it is the home to a raging battle, as the emergency services try to repel more than 200 wildfires in Greece since Monday alone. Firefighters look at a wildfire burning on Mount Parnitha, in Athens, Greece, August 24, 2023. Burning cars destroyed by the fire on Mount Parnitha in Athens, Greece, on August 23, 2023. It was a welcome glimmer of hope, but it will take more than a little water to protect Greece from these wildfires and those that will surely come again.

Persons: Nikos, Eleni Giokos, CNN Nikos, ”, Nicolas Economou, Kostas, Michalis Diakakis, Parnitha, Giorgos Arapekos, Dr Diakakis, Nikos ’ Organizations: Greece CNN, CNN, Reuters, of Geology, Kapodistrian University of Athens, AP, Police Locations: Athens, Greece, Paraskevi, Panitha, Greece’s, ”, Parnitha, Dadia, Alexandroupoli, Evros

☆ Charges of Arson as Greek Wildfire Becomes Largest Recorded in European Union
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Niki Kitsantonis | More About Niki Kitsantonis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Beleaguered firefighters trying to curb Greece’s worst wildfire season on record battled two major blazes on Friday: one in Evros, home to what an official has called the biggest wildfire the European Union has faced, and the other near Athens, the capital. Greek authorities investigating the causes of the fires arrested dozens of people on suspicion of arson. “It’s a very difficult summer,” a government spokesman, Pavlos Marinakis, said at a news briefing on Friday, blaming “the explosive mix of climate change” along with arson. He said that 160 people had been arrested across the country on arson charges, 42 of them accused of intentional arson and the remainder accused of setting fires through neglect. State inspectors started evaluating the damage to land and homes south of the mountain, where the flames had been doused.

Persons: “, Pavlos Marinakis, ” Organizations: European Union Locations: Evros, Athens, ”, Parnitha

CNN —Greek authorities have arrested dozens of people on arson-related charges as deadly wildfires – the largest ever recorded in the European Union – rage across the country. Wildfires in Mount Parnitha, north of the Greek capital Athens, are still out of control Friday, with more forest destroyed overnight. The biggest fire front line in Greece remains near the northeastern town of Alexandroupolis, in the Evros region. Alexandros Avramidis/ReutersGreek police have made 79 arson related arrests, Greek government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis told public broadcaster EPT Friday. Across Greece, wildfires have burned through 1.3 billion square meters (130,000 hectares) so far, an EU record, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

Persons: AMNA, Alexandros Avramidis, Pavlos Marinakis, Vassilis Kikilias, ” Kikilas, Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič, “, ” Lenarčič, CNN’s Organizations: CNN, European, Reuters, EPT, Justice, European Union, Crisis Management, EU Locations: Mount Parnitha, Athens, Greece, Alexandroupolis, Evros, Dadia, Turkey, Avantas, Parnitha

☆ As Fires Endanger the ‘Lungs’ of Athens, Greek Anger Rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Niki Kitsantonis | More About Niki Kitsantonis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even as the Greek authorities battled scores of wildfires, stretching from north to south on the mainland, the fires encroaching on a treasured national park north of Athens on Thursday provoked special anger. Mount Parnitha, a protected wildlife area widely known as the “lungs” of Athens, is normally a respite for city dwellers, especially as the heat of Greek summers has tipped to dangerous extremes. But on Thursday, with the air acrid with the smell of burned wood, residents and conservationists alike lamented the potential loss of one of the few green spaces left near the capital. They accused the authorities of failing to protect a precious forestland that is home to more than 1,000 species of plants and animals, including red deer and wolves. “No other European capital has been blessed with such a hot spot of biodiversity literally at its doorstep,” said Demetre Karavellas, director of World Wildlife Fund Greece, adding that the extent of the damage was still unclear as fires continued to rage.

Persons: Mount Parnitha, ”, Demetre Karavellas Organizations: World Wildlife Fund Locations: Athens, World Wildlife Fund Greece

☆ Wildfire rages near Athens for second day, forcing more evacuations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ATHENS, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Hundreds of firefighters struggled overnight to contain a wildfire on the outskirts of Athens, forcing more evacuations as authorities warned the risk of new blazes was high across the country on Wednesday. Twenty people have been killed since fires erupted in northern Greece on Saturday and quickly spread, fanned by gale force winds in the second major outbreak of the summer. A fire near the village of Fyli on the foothills of Mount Parnitha, some 25 km (15 miles) north of Athens, spread towards the town of Menidi, where about 150 people had to be evacuated from three nursing homes, a local official said. "We kept the fire away from homes," Stathis Topalidis, deputy mayor of Menidi, told state broadcaster ERT on Wednesday. [1/5]A satellite image shows an overview of wildfires in Alexandroupolis, Greece, August 21, 2023.

Persons: Topalidis, Karolina Tagaris, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: ERT, Maxar Technologies, REUTERS Acquire, Volunteers, European Union, Thomson Locations: ATHENS, Athens, Greece, Fyli, Mount Parnitha, Menidi, Alexandroupolis, Turkey, East, Asia, Italy, Rhodes

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