Forest fire in Dervenochoria splits into two fronts
A large fire that broke out on Saturday night in a pine forest in Dervenochoria, an area of the prefecture of Viotia, north of Athens, has split into two fronts, making firefighters’ job that much harder, authorities said on Sunday evening.
The area that is on fire is very remote, with deep ravines and a craggy terrain that has allowed the blaze to spread and split into two fronts, one of which, on the southwest towards the town of Magoula in Attica, is inaccessible by land units and needs to be approached by air. The other front was spreading east towards Mount Parnitha.
Earlier on Sunday, a water-dumping plane had to make an emergency landing after experiencing technical problems. Neither of the two crewmen on board was injured, the fire service said.
Authorities are concerned that the southwestern front may spread out of control overnight as water-dumping craft pull out at dusk due to limited visibility. They said the blaze has already destroyed large expanses of forestland. The area was also devastated by a large fire on June 28, 2007.
