Strong winds lash Greece for second day, fanning Wildfires
Pastor Dale Morgan
Strong winds lash Greece for second day, fanning Wildfires*
ATHENS, July 15 (AFP) Jul 15, 2007
Gale-force winds continued to lash Greece for the second day, blowing up
to 74 kilometres (46 miles) per hour on Sunday, disrupting sea travel
and fanning fires, authorities said.
Hundreds of holidaymakers were stranded at ports as three catamaran
connections to the island of Crete and several of the Cycladic islands
were cancelled.
Greece's fire brigade was meanwhile kept busy with three blazes on the
islands of Crete and Evia but inhabited areas were not threatened, a
brigade officer said.
The whole of Greece's eastern mainland along with many of the Aegean
islands had been placed on high fire alert.
The winds were expected to slacken on Monday.
Greece has been hit by scores of fires in recent weeks following a
heatwave at the end of June that was the longest in over 100 years.
The most damaging blaze ravaged between 2,500 and 4,000 hectares on
Mount Parnitha, a forest north of Athens that includes a national park
and was meant to be among the best protected areas in the country.
Last week, three part-time firemen were trapped and killed by a blaze on
Crete, and hundreds of people were evacuated on the Aegean island of
Skiathos when a fire threatened their homes and hotels.