Mt Parnitha fire seen as accident
As firemen fought 181 wildfires all over the country yesterday, the fire brigade said Wednesday’s forest blaze that killed one man and destroyed 11 houses on the northern outskirts of Athens was probably started accidentally by construction workers. Officials were questioning laborers working on four construction sites where the fire in Thrakomakedones, on the southern foothills of Mount Parnitha, is believed to have started. Investigators believe the fire may have been caused by sparks from a welding torch landing on dry brush. In the northeastern Attica area of Kalamos yesterday, around 1,000 children had to be evacuated by the army from three summer camps after a forest fire threatened the area. The blaze was later brought under control. A second fire at Thrakomakedones was quickly extinguished, while other blazes in Icaria, Samos, Aegina, Samothrace and Cephalonia were brought under control. Late yesterday, a fire near Anavyssos, in southern Attica, threatened the settlements of Aghios Panteleimon and Aghios Constantinos.
