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Firefighters step up operation to contain Achea fires

Firefighters step up operation to contain Achea fires

The battle against a wildfire continues in Thursday morning in the northeastern Peloponnesian prefecture of Achea, where the Fire Service remained on alert throughout the night.

On Wednesday, firefighters ordered the evacuation of a number of villages in the region as a precautionary measure.

According to the Fire Service, the situation of the fire near the village of Drosia has improved. Nevertheless, the operation has been stepped up.

A total of 180 firefighters, eight ground units, 48 tenders, 2 helicopters and 2 aircraft are attending the fire.

Local municipalities have also deployed water tankers and construction machinery.

“The situation looks better this morning, but there are scattered blazes, which, however, do not threaten residential areas,” the mayor of Erymanthos, Theodoros Baris, said. 

“The intensity of the wind has decreased and the air and ground firefighting forces are like clockwork.”

On the first day of the blaze, at least six houses in Elekistra and Souli were destroyed by fire..

Earlier, residents in the settlements of Kato Drosia, Pigadia, Barakes, Skiada, Xirochori, Stavrodromi, Skouras, Kardasi, Karpeta and Agia were notified through the 112 emergency number to evacuate their homes for precautionary reasons and to make their way to Chalandritsa.

Meanwhile, four out of Greece’s 13 administrative regions are at “very high risk” of fire on Thursday, according to the Wildfire Hazard map issued by the General Secretariat for Civil Protection during the summer season.

[ANA-MPA]

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