The firefighters have been fighting the fires in western Athens for days. Then the wind changed – and the place Vilia was suddenly in great danger.
Athens – Greek and Polish firefighters defended the village of Vilia in the west of Athens against a fire that had been raging for days and saved the village with around 3,000 inhabitants.
The Greek radio reported on the successful extinguishing operation on Thursday night. “We hope to get the fires under control today,” said the region’s governor, Giorgos Patoulis, on Greek radio. On Wednesday the wind had turned – a huge sea of flames had set course for the village from the surrounding mountains.
Several helicopters and fire-fighting planes tried on Thursday with the first light of day to bring the fire under control. According to the Minister for Citizenship Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis, this is difficult to extinguish: There are no roads or aisles on which the fire brigade can reach the fires on the high mountains of the Vilia region, which are densely forested with pine trees. dpa
