Forest fires – Greece hopes for rain

In other areas of the country, the fire brigade continued to fight forest and bush fires on Saturday. The weather forecast provided a bit of hope; accordingly, it could rain over the weekend in parts of central Greece, in the northern port city of Thessaloniki and even in Athens.

However, thunderstorms with lightning in the morning caused new sources of fire, this time in the coastal town of Vari near Athens. Even before the fires in north-eastern Greece have been extinguished, experts have already started with the first damage assessments and the balance sheets are devastating. What was destroyed within a week will only return to its original state in decades – if ever, the newspaper “Kathimerini” wrote on Saturday. According to this, around 74,000 hectares burned in the area of ​​the border river Evros, 13,000 of them in the Dadia National Park alone. Ornithologists say the old pine forest with its tall trees provides perfect nesting grounds for birds of prey and vultures – many of which have now been killed by the fire.