Fire causes mass evacuations from Greek resorts
June Samaras
By Anthee Carassava
CNN
ATHENS, Greece (CNN) --
Greek police on Friday evacuated more than 2,000 European vacationers
from a strip of holiday resorts on Rhodes as fierce forest fires swept
through
the Greek island and thick plumes of smoke choked its most popular hotels.
Authorities said the evacuation was a precaution as fires raged for a
fourth day, scorching at least 7,400 acres of lush pine forest on one
of the country's most idyllic islands.
Police said the evacuation affected hotels in the Asklipios area, near
the southeast coastline of Rhodes, a popular holiday destination for
British tourists.
"Three hotels were evacuated as a precaution, mainly because smoke
from the fire had created an unpleasant atmosphere," said Charlambos
Kokkinos,
regional governor for the southern Aegean.
The officials declared southern Rhodes in a state of emergency earlier
this week when the fires broke out and quickly swept through the
island because of gale force winds.
Dozens of homes were destroyed in Laerma, the worst hit region, state
media reported. No injuries or fatalities were reported. France and
Italy have sent
five water-bombers to assist hundreds of Greek firefighters and
volunteers trying to extinguish the blazes.
Earlier in the day, a brush fire in southern Greece forced authorities
to evacuate two camping sites near the town of Aegion and close a main
highway linking Athens to the port city of Patras.Rail services in the
area were also suspended, resuming three hours later when firefighters
got the blaze under control. Closer to the capital of Athens, five
water-dropping planes quickly tackled another fire in Mandra, west of
Athens.
More than 100 fires have burned in Greece since the start of the
summer, and the latest infernos sparked as an ombudsman's report
criticized
the government for not doing enough to prevent such outbreaks."The
main measures for fire protection are not being properly implemented,"
the report said.
More than 65 people were killed in devastating fires last year and
444,790 acres of the Greek countryside was charred.
"The lesson of last year's tragic experience does not seem to have
been fully learned," the ombudsman report said.
===========================
June Samaras
KALAMOS BOOKS
(For Books about Greece)
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : kalamo...@gmail.com
(or) kalam...@aol.com
www.kalamosbooks.com