Greece not ready for extreme forest fire season
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Greece not ready for extreme forest fire season*
20 May 2008 17:33:05 GMT
Source: Reuters
ATHENS, May 20 (Reuters) - Greece has failed to ensure it is ready for
the forest fire season, a year after devastating wild fires killed 65
people, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Greece said on Tuesday.
Last summer's fires, the worst in decades, also scorched thousands of
hectares of forest and farmland, destroyed villages and threatened
archaeological sites.
"Despite the (government's) efforts there are still problems that, if
not dealt with, will lead to the same problems as last year, or worse,"
Dimitris Karavellas, head of the Greek branch of the WWF, told a news
conference.
"I'm afraid we will have fires similar to last year's ... We must face
the fact that our fire protection system is not efficient," Karavellas said.
A dry winter followed by summer temperatures well above 40 degrees
Celsisus (104 Fahrenheit) fanned the flames last year and meteorologists
predict temperatures could hit 46 Celsius this summer.
The WWF called for the creation of a specialist unit within the fire
brigade to tackle forest fires, more staff, improved training for
volunteers, better coordination among government agencies and more funds
for fire prevention.
Greek officials have acknowledged that time is running out and measures
will not be in place by the summer.
"It is obvious, as we enter the forest fire season, that most of these
measures won't be enforced this summer," conservative MP Kyriakos
Mitsotakis, head of parliament's environment committee, told reporters.
(Reporting by Renee Maltezou, editing by Jon Boyle)