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Firefighters battle to contain wildfire near Athens
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 20 - 08 - 2009

Firefighters battled to contain several wildfires raging out of control near Athens today, sending panicked
residents fleeing from their homes and burning factories, dpa reported.
More than 100 firefighters assisted by five firefighting planes
and four helicopters battled to put out the fire just west of Athens,
near the industrial area of Magoula and Elefsina while strong winds
fanned the blaze.
The fire had quickly spread from a forested mountain in the area
of Magoula to an industrial site, burning factories and warehouses.
Reports said firefighter planes were prevented from flying for
several hours due to strong gale force winds. Residents, armed with
buckets and hoses, could be seen battling to put out the flames.
Traffic was jammed for hours as officials shut off the main road
leading to Magoula as a safety precaution.
In the last 24 hours more than 60 forest fires were reported to
have broken out across the country.
Another blaze, fanned by high temperatures and strong winds, was
reported to be burning out of control in central Greece near the town
of Astakos, damaging at least a dozen homes. Some 50 firefighters, 11
fire engines and three aircraft were trying to extinguish the flames.
Two more blazes were reported near Marathona and the Athens
residential area of Markopoulos.
Firefighters were also battling wildfires on the holiday island of
Kafallonia, the Aegean island of Limnos and in the northern town of
Kavala.
Forest fires have become more frequent in Greece in recent
summers, triggered by high temperatures and drought, but also arson.
Greece declared a state of emergency in 2007 during 10 days of
blazes that killed more than 80 people on the island of Evia and the
western Peloponnese.


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