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Fires Approach Athens, Residents Flee

By DEMETRIS NELLAS

posted: 3 HOURS 19 MINUTES AGO

comments: 489

filed under: Wildfire News, World News

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ATHENS, Greece (Aug. 23) - A raging fire bore down on Athens' northern suburbs Sunday, prompting panicked residents to battle the flames with tree limbs and buckets, and police to order 10,000 people to evacuate one town immediately.

Frightened inhabitants of Agios Stefanos gathered in the town's main square in early afternoon as flames closed in on the town center and police with loudspeakers directed everyone to leave immediately on the main highway to Athens, 14 miles to the southwest.

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Wildfires in Greece

Wildfire illuminates the sky behind the ancient Acropolis in Athens Sunday. Thousand fled in dramatic overnight evacuations as the blazes entered their third day. Fires threatened hospitals, military installations and the archaeological site of Rhamnus, home to two 2,500-year-old temples.

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Other residents tried desperately to save their homes with hoses, buckets and branches. Planes swooped low over the town to pour water on the flaming houses.

"I call on all residents to follow the instructions of the police as to where they will go," an emotional Agios Stefanos deputy mayor Panayiotis Bitakos told Skai TV. "We had been begging the authorities since early in the morning to send forces ... It is too late now. Too late."

By mid-afternoon, the town was empty save for a few volunteers who were aiding firefighters. Houses smoldered and burned-out cars littered the streets.

Planes and helicopters, which had suspended operations overnight, attacked the blaze again at dawn. But with gale-force winds propelling the flames, the fire spread unchecked. TV showed airplanes and helicopters dumping water on a forest outside Agios Stefanos — and the fire re-igniting moments after they left.

“The situation is tragic,” said Yiannis Sgouros, governor of the greater Athens area. “Fires are out of control on many fronts.”

The forests around Athens' northern suburbs have helped the fire leap to new areas.

"The pine cones are like projectiles — they cover long distances, too, and spread the fire around," said Avraam Pasipoularidis, mayor of the northern suburb of Drossia. "Everything around me is burning."

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The fires ignited late Friday; by Sunday they were reported across an area more than 25 miles (40 kilometers) wide. They started in the mountains near the town of Marathon, from which the modern long-distance foot race takes its name. The army removed anti-aircraft missiles from a nearby military base as the flames approached.

Municipal officials said the fire was threatening the archaeological site of Rhamnus, home to two 2,500-year-old temples.

A state of emergency was declared Saturday in greater Athens: These are the most destructive fires in Greece since blazes killed more than 70 people in 2007.

Residents fled on foot, by motorbike and in cars, amid blackouts and cuts in the water supply. No casualties had been reported as of early Sunday afternoon.

TV stations broadcast frantic calls for help from people of different areas, with many complaining that no firefighting equipment had reached them.

A resident of Drossia pleaded with TV station Mega for help, saying far was within 45 yards (40 meters) of his home and he had no water with which to fight it.

Authorities evacuated two large children's hospitals, as well as campsites and homes in villages and outlying suburbs threatened by blazes that scattered ash across Athens. The flames also approached a large monastery on Mt. Penteli.

Officials said help was on the way.

"There are 14 planes — with two of these coming from Italy — and nine helicopters fighting the fire, alongside hundreds of firefighters, volunteers and soldiers," fire brigade spokesman Yiannis Kapakis told reporters.

"These will soon be joined by two planes from France and a helicopter from Cyprus. Cyprus will also send four fire engines and 60 firefighters," he added.

Elsewhere in Greece, serious fires were reported on the islands of Evia and Skyros in the Aegean Sea and Zakynthos in the west. Another large fire that started Saturday in the town of Plataea, 40 miles northwest of Athens, was spreading unchecked in western Attica.

A total of 83 fires have broken out across Greece since 6 a.m. Saturday, fire brigade spokesman Kapakis said.

Associated Press Writer Derek Gatopoulos contributed to this report.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2009-08-22 19:52:11

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Amail4angelo

01:29 PMAug 23 2009

Anyway the Greeks will recover on their own...They help each other and care for one another....Much more then I can say about us here.

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SmokeFH

01:29 PMAug 23 2009

THE WAY I SEE IT, YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE, WHERE YOU WERE BORN, ONE CAN GO AND LIVE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, BUT THAT DOES NOT MAKE YOU THE SAME AS THE REST OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE BORN IN THAT COUNTRY. THERE WAS A REASON, GOD WANTED TO KEEP THE JEWS FROM MARRING INTO OTHER RACES, THAT SHOULD APPLY TO ALL RACES.

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rak458

01:28 PMAug 23 2009

Greece fires are some of the hardest to put out.

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STaRgAzEr33154

01:28 PMAug 23 2009

Black2Deep ..one of my favs is the green corn ceremony

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Sykiks

01:27 PMAug 23 2009

Black2Deep 01:23 PMAug 23 2009 STaRgAzEr33154 01:16 PMAug 23 2009 Black2Deep ..that's true..I was speaking for my tribe though..not worried about others..lol yes I know how shallow of me..figured why not since the majority of others here practice shallowness all the time-----------------------Not to change the subject, but did you know that the fire dance is the oldest dance known to native american tribes and extends all the way to the stepps of China. Also the word for water in Apache is Tu. It is also the name for water in China and other asian nations. The same song for the fire dance is sang the same in all tribes yet no one knows what the words mean.======Hmmmmmm....could the dance and the words possibly mean....HOT! HOT! HOT! I burned the crap out of my foot!!!!!

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haf67

01:26 PMAug 23 2009

WWW.NIGGERMANIA.COM

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BDozer1947

01:26 PMAug 23 2009

Hey McDuff49... where do you get your history from comic books? One skeleton of a Caucasian was found in upper North West... But 99% of the evidence is for Asian occupation... One lone skeleton is an anomaly and does not give white people the advantage over thousands of genetic proof that Asians were here first... This one white man must have gotten here somehow but it was not the dominate culture... FOOL

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Bobbycashin

01:26 PMAug 23 2009

PERFECT EXAMLE. Instead of the US stuffing its nose up the Middle East ass we could aid these poor people over in Greece. But no, we would rather waste millions on people that dont even want our help.

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STaRgAzEr33154

01:26 PMAug 23 2009

McDuffik49 01:20 PMAug 23 2009 Black2Deep, you need to do more research, in the Americas, European caucasians were the first settlers, not Indians, who came from Asia, not blacks, but, Cacasian Europeans! Approx. 50,000 years ago.@@@ WHERE'S YOUR RESEARCH FOR THIS BS..FIRST INDIANS CAME HERE, 12,OOO YRS AGO..WEREN'T ANY CAUCAIONS HERE 50,OO0 YRS AGO..AT ONE TIME THERE WERE OVER 500 INDIAN TRIBES FROM ALASKA TO SOUTH AMERICA

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Danesrus777

01:24 PMAug 23 2009

God in heaven what is wrong with alot of you people. Every time I read a tragic article I skim down to read what I would expect to be well wishes for the many people who just lost their homes, jobs and security. Instead I read jokes, hatred and total lack of compassion from people from my own country. Dont any of you have a soul. Dont any of you feel compassion. God help the usa, we are drowning in hatred.

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