Forest fire in Greece threatens Olympics birthplace

Greek firefighters battled to bring under control two major fires raging near Olympia and on the island of Evia on Thursday as the country swelters in a record-breaking heatwave.More than 170 firefighters, around 50 trucks, six helicopters and water-bombing aircraft were deployed near the ancient archeological site, the birthplace of the Olympic games, on the Peloponnese peninsula. After destroying around 20 houses, “the fire’s front is now heading towards Lalas,” a wooded mountainous area to the north west of Olympia, local official Nektarios Farmakis told media. The site is where the Olympics were held every four years from 776 BC for more than a millennium. Regional Governor Nektarios Farmakis told state television it had been “saved for the time being”, but warned the danger was “not over”.

Olympia, usually thronging with tourists at this time of year, as well as six nearby villages, were evacuated the day before. A similar number of firefighters were also battling to contain a blaze on Evia, some 200 kilometres east of Athens.At least 150 houses were destroyed on the island as the fire surrounded a monastery and a dozen villages.The mayor of the town of Mantoudi, Giannis Tsapourniotis, said the fire was moving on four fronts, with one particularly difficult to control near the Saint David Monastery, which was evacuated on Wednesday.The fire brigade said that it had had to deal with 92 forest fires on top of the 118 from the previous day. 

Neighbouring Turkey is also suffering its worst fires in at least a decade, claiming the lives of eight people and forcing hundreds to evacuate in southern areas popular with tourists. In Turkey, a wildfire  that reached the compound of a coal-fuelled power plant in the southwest, forcing residents to flee in boats and cars, was contained on Thursday after raging for some 11 hours. A European Union disaster response group said firefighters and water-dropping planes were being sent from EU members to Italy, Greece, Albania and North Macedonia. The Turkey defence minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos said on Thursday the armed forces would expand their role, with ground and air patrols over areas vulnerable to wildfires.