Minor forest fires reported near Athens
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Two minor forest fires were reported on Thursday afternoon at the outskirts of Athens, prompting the swift reaction of fire brigade and local authorities responsible for the protection of forests.
Four airplanes and three squads with firemen rushed near the cemetery of Schristo, a few kilometers from the Greek capital and Piraeus port, where the first fire broke out, while another group of firemen were sent to the nearby island of Aegina to put out another fire near a monastery.
It was one of the first tests of strength and alertness of Greek authorities this summer. The country suffers a lot from forest fires every summer due to heat waves or arson.
Last year, dozens of houses and thousands of hectares of forests were burnt during fires that started near the Marathon, the starting point of the ancient race.
It was the worst destruction for Greece since 2007, when across the country 70 people died due to forest fires that could not be put under control for days. Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games, was partly destroyed in the fire.
This year, as Greece faces an economic crisis and the government was forced to proceed to cutbacks on public spending and a freeze in hiring part time employees to state agencies, local government officials have expressed fears that the cutbacks could cause serious problems to the function of fire brigade in case major forest fires break out.
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