The biggest wildfire front raging in Greece on Sunday evening remained in northern Evia, a large island straddling the eastern mainland that is slightly larger than Long Island in New York State. The site is now focus of fire-fighting and civil defense forces.
The night for the inhabitants of Ancient Olympia, Messinia and Evia was difficult, with the fires that broke out in these areas continuing to burn until now. At this time, relative windlessness prevails, but fears are expressed concerning the coming hours, with the front of Evia getting worse.
This is because two more villages were evacuated at dawn in northern Evia, according to the mayor, George Tsapourniotis. These are the settlements of Amelantes and Kerameia, which are located north of the front of Drymonas, Osios David and the defense zone in the village of Kourkouloi, where yesterday a battle was fought to prevent the fire from advancing towards the village of Skepasti.
Also, at 7:30 the evacuation of the village of Kechries of the Municipality of Elymnia-Mantoudi-Agia Anna began,
During the night the fire was in remission, but from 3:00 the winds intensified and began to approach the houses of the village Amelantes. By midnight, however, the fire brigade was reinforced by others coming from the Varybobi front.
The deputy governor of Evia, D. Vourdanos, noted on ERT that "it is a difficult day, which dawned with negative developments." According to him, the northern front is in full swing, as well as the eastern. Mr Vourdanos noted that during the night two other settlements were evacuated, Amelantes and Kechries.
Kourkouloi, Skepasti, Kechries, Kerameia and Amelantes are the areas where the greatest danger is located. The deputy governor estimated that the front extends to about 30 kilometers.
According to the first data, even on this morning the aerial means have difficulties in flying over fire fronts, as the visibility is limited due to the dense smoke.
Also, at midnight, the meeting of the coordinating body ended, during which it was decided to redistribute the forces in manpower and equipment, but the resurgence of fires was continuous both in the villages and in the coastal zone, mainly in Chronia.
As far as Rovies is concerned, so far there is no official assessment of the damages, while local government officials are talking about more than 150 burnt houses in the wider area.
A short distance from Athens, in the waters of southern Evia, there is a complex of islands, ten to be exact, that can be easily compared with world-famous island complexes around the world, since the intense combination of colors of water and nature is real unique. Marinos Charampopoulos takes us on a tour.