Greece gets EU assistance to battle disastrous wildfires

GREECE battled wildfires that have ravaged homes and sparked evacuations for a second day yesterday, with the help of Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft expected to arrive later.

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Fires were still raging yesterday in the Peloponnese area west of the capital, as well as on the islands of Evia and Kythera, with aircraft and helicopters resuming their work in several parts of the country at dawn.

“Today is expected to be a difficult day with a very high risk of fire, almost throughout the territory”, fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said, though he added that the situation was improving.

Forecasters predicted the strong winds that have fanned the flames would die down yesterday in most areas but warned that Kythera, an popular tourist island with 3 600 inhabitants, continued to face “worrying” windy conditions.

Evacuation messages were sent to people on the island, which lies off the southeastern tip of the Peloponnese, yesterday as the fire was raging unabated.