Reply #3: Wild Fire in Greece Forces Evacuation of 10,000

[undeterred]

Source: Voice of America News

By Nathan Morley
Cyprus
23 August 2009

A raging wild fire swept into a suburb of Athens, Greece early Sunday, forcing authorities in one town to order 10,000 people to evacuate their homes.

The blaze broke out Friday on the outskirts of Athens, with firefighters and airplanes rushing to the suburbs, where flames swept through the dry brush land. The fires have been fanned by strong, hot winds and parched grass, and thousands of hectares of agricultural land and pasture have been scorched.

Now nearly 10,000 residents of Agios Stefanos, a community to the north of the capital, have been ordered to leave their homes. Local TV and radio broadcast messages to residents warning of the danger if they remain, and police cars with megaphones sent the same warnings.

The government has declared a state of emergency in the region, and the blaze has sent a thick blanket of smoke across the skies of Athens. Officials have not formally said what caused the fire. Harry Tszanis of the Athens News Agency tells VOA that the finger of blame for the disaster, is again being pointed at arsonists. In 2007, a fire set by arsonists left 70 people dead.


Read more: http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-08-23-voa16.cfm