Greece battles 63 new forest fires
Pastor Dale Morgan
Greece battles 63 new forest fires*
ATHENS, July 22 (AFP) Jul 22, 2007
Some 63 forest fires broke out in Greece over the weekend, firefighters
said Sunday amid soaring temperatures that forecasters warned were set
to continue until the end of the week.
The majority have been brought under control but a blaze on a mountain
near Athens raged Sunday for a third day, they said.
Last week, 180 fires broke out across Greece. In Corinthia, in the
south, a two-day blaze destroyed pine-woods and farms and forced the
evacuation of a monastery, two holiday resorts and a village.
Fifteen people have died in heat waves in Greece since the start of the
summer and meteorologists said the current hot spell was set to continue
until Thursday, when the barometer could hit 43 degrees Celcius (109
Fahrenheit).