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FIRE STORM
Greece to speed up destruction of illegal property after fires
by Staff Writers
Athens (AFP) Aug 1, 2018

Wildfire threatens Spain natural park
Madrid (AFP) Aug 1, 2018 - Firefighters were battling Wednesday to put out a wildfire near one of Spain's famous Estrecho natural park in the south west of the country.

More than 100 firefighters, backed by seven water-dropping aircraft and troops from a local military base, were tackling the blaze at Punta Camarinal near Tarifa in the province of Cadiz, the firefighting service in Andalusia said in Twitter message.

The fire threatened the Estrecho natural park, which is home to oak, cork and wild olive trees, as well as birdlife, such as white storks, vultures and falcons.

The park takes in Bolonia beach, which is regularly included on lists of Spain's best beaches because of its fine white sand and crystal clear waters.

Firefighters said wind gusts of up to 55 kilometres (35 miles) per hour were making it hard to contain the flames.

Like much of Spain, Cadiz is on high alert for forest fires because of a heatwave pushing temepratures past 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

Spain's meteorological office, Aemet, said the hot spell would stretch from Wednesday to at least Sunday as a mass of hot air moves up from Africa.

In 2008, a wildfire destroyed around 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of land in the Estrecho natural park and forced the evacuation of around 1,000 people.

Greece vowed Wednesday to bring in a raft of measures following the deadly fires near Athens as the family of an elderly victim filed a complaint of "negligent homicide" against the authorities.

Ten days after wildfires ravaged coastal towns -- claiming at least 93 lives -- the government announced it would speed up the destruction of 3,000 illegal constructions around the Greek capital as well as "reorganising" civil defence and "improving protection".

Relatives of a man in his seventies who died lodged the "negligent homicide" complaint against the head of the civil defence, the prefect of Attica, the mayor of Marathon and "anyone responsible" for firefighters or police.

Environment minister Georges Stathakis said a string of legal and financial measures would "accelerate" the destruction of around 2,500 illegal constuctions in forests and around 700 on the coast as the government tries to manage opposition criticism and the anger of victims.

Meanwhile, authorities will "develop the prevention of forest fires", and "strengthen the controls" against walls and barriers that illegally block access to the seaside, said Socratis Famellos, Stathakis's deputy.

And interior minister Panis Skourletis announced a "reorganisation of the civil defence service", which has faced criticism from experts and the media.

Authorities and experts have blamed the loss of life and extensive damage to property -- particularly in Mati, east of Athens -- on strong winds and the chaotic urban planning in the pine forest area.

Many of the victims were trapped by the flames as they tried to reach the beaches because of a lack of evacuation planning and no access to the sea.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he assumed "political responsibility" for the tragedy but rejected accusations of a botched response.

The government has also announced a package of support measures for victims, including compensation and help with tax and banking amounting to 40 million euros.


Related Links
Forest and Wild Fires - News, Science and Technology


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FIRE STORM
'Come and get me,' boy pleaded before California fire death
Redding, United States (AFP) July 31, 2018
A young boy pleaded for rescue before he died along with two others in a California wildfire, an anguished relative recounted Monday, while other shaken survivors told of their flight from a "tornado" of fire. Thousands of firefighters in California made some progress against several large-scale blazes that have turned around 200,000 acres (80,940 hectares) into an ashen wasteland, destroyed expensive homes, and killed eight fire personnel and civilians in the most populous US state. The worst b ... read more

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