Greek Government Asks EU for Help to Fight Wildfires

The Greek government has officially requested European civil protection assistance to help combat the forest fires raging near Athens, a spokesperson of the fire service, Stavroula Malliri told a press briefing.
Due to the ferocity and the large scale of the fire, Greece activated the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism on Tuesday to request the forest firefighting planes to help stop the spread of raging wildfires in the northeastern suburbs of Athens.
According to Malliri, France refused to contribute with 2 pairs of Canadair firefighting planes type CL415 noting that it needs its aerial means to cope with the fires raging inside the country.
Cyprus has agreed to send six fire engines and 60 firemen to assist Greece’s battle against wildfires, raging in multiple parts of the country in the last five days.
Justice Minister of Cyprus Ionas Nikolaou spoke on the phone with Greek Civil Protection Minister Nikos Toskas to organise the transfer of the firefighting force from Cyprus to Greece.
Three firefighting planes and six water-throwing helicopters operated through the day, assisting 210 firefighters and about 100 military personnel battling the blaze on the ground near the town of Kapandriti, on the east of capital Athens.
Rugged terrain dotted with small communities made the fire-fighting difficult, with winds rekindling the blaze at many spots. Thick, billowing smoke rendered operations from the air difficult.
Across Greece, firefighters were battling more than 55 forest fires, an outbreak fed by dry winds and hot weather that fanned blazes in the Peloponnese and on the Ionian islands of Zakynthos and Kefalonia.