Fire in Crete: 2nd Ericson also helps – Agios Georgios was evacuated again

The fire that broke out at noon on Saturday in the south of Rethymno between Orne and Kryas Vrysis with a parallel front in Rodakino has already caused irreparable destruction with the fire brigades, volunteers and staff of the Municipalities fighting a tough battle with the continuous flare-ups and strong winds .

Earlier, the settlement of Orne was evacuated for precautionary reasons as the fire came very close to it.

Already in Crete, another ERICSON helicopter has arrived and is operating from Tripoli, while a total of 33 Fire Brigade vehicles with 120 firefighters are operating in the Orne area and 7 Fire Brigade vehicles with 22 firefighters are operating in Rodakino.

There are two active fronts, one towards Agios Georgios and one towards Shakhtouri.

The mayor also spoke of a biblical disaster, pointing out that thousands of acres of olive trees, many beehives, sheep and vines have been burned.
He appealed to as many feed companies as possible to help as farmers no longer have anywhere to graze their animals.

Earlier today, he had expressed the assessment that the fires were caused by arson.

A little after one in the afternoon and while the image of the fire had improved since the morning, there was a new, dangerous flare-up near Agios Georgios, as a result of which it was decided – as the mayor of Agios Vassiliou Yiannis Tatarakis told Cretalive – to evacuate the settlement again and luxury homes located in the wider area.

The strong winds that blow in the area make it very difficult for the aerial means, with the helicopters in some cases even trying two or three times to refuel.

At the front of the fire is the Regional Governor of Crete Stavros Arnautakis and the Deputy Governor of Rethymno Maria Lioni.

The contribution of the volunteers and residents of the area, who rush with the same means to put out fires in hard-to-reach areas, is touching.

The danger of another large front forming again has not been removed.

Continuous drops from the air are carried out by 4 aerial vehicles, while volunteers and vehicles from the OTAs help in the extinguishing work.

Although since the morning, the picture of the fire was better, the flare-ups that occurred resulted in the police closing the Agia Galini-Spili road again as a precaution.

It is recalled that due to the criticality of the situation on Saturday, an order was given to evacuate the settlements of Melampes, Sakhturion, Krya Vrysi, and Agios Georgios west of Agia Galini. Earlier in the afternoon there had been a partial evacuation of the village of Orne, from where 13 people, mostly elderly people, were evacuated.

The fire burned in its wake pastures, beehives, animals with the residents, professionals and agencies of the wider area already talking about incalculable damages.

Last night was very difficult as the fire was not contained and the front was long.

With the first light of day, the aerial vehicles started dropping water.

Last night the villages of Orne, Krya Vrysi, Saktouria, Agios Georgios, Agios Pavlos and Melampes were evacuated.

According to the mayor, the residents are safe, while no houses were burned even though the fire entered the village of Melampes.

Two people required hospitalization

two people were taken to the Health Center. It is about a firefighter and an elderly woman, who were picked up by EKAB rescuers and rushed to Spili Rethymnon.

Alarm for 5 regions

A very high risk of fire (risk category 4) is predicted today, Saturday, July 16, for five regions of the country according to the Fire Risk Prediction Map issued by the general secretariat of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection.

Specifically, a very high risk of fire is predicted tomorrow for the following areas:

• Region of Attica
• Region of Central Greece (PE Boeotia, PE Evia)
• Peloponnese Region (Corinthia Region, Argolis Region)
• Region of Crete
• North Aegean Region (Chios Region, Samos Region, Ikaria Region)

At the same time, the general secretariat of Civil Protection addresses recommendations to citizens to be especially careful and to avoid actions in the open air that can cause a fire by negligence, such as burning dry grass and branches or cleaning residues, using machines that cause sparks such as circular saws, welding devices, the use of outdoor grills, smoking bees, throwing lit cigarettes, etc. Also, the General Directorate of Fire Protection reminds that during the fire protection season burning of fields is prohibited and calls on citizens in the event of a fire to notify the Fire Service immediately by dialing 199.

In addition, the 2nd stage of operational readiness of the P.S. remains in place. and aerial surveillance patrols will continue, as well as patrols by Fire, Police and Military forces.

Furthermore, the staff of the Fire Departments of the above Regional Units remain on partial alert, and the staff of the P.Y. are on general alert. of Samos, in order to deal with the increased service requirements, which may arise due to a very high risk of fire (risk category 4).

At the same time, for the above areas, the Plan of Civil Protection actions to deal with risks due to forest fires remains in place, according to which, among other things, the implementation of the measure of the preventive ban on vehicle traffic and the stay of excursionists in national forests is foreseen, forests and “vulnerable” areas.

At the same time, the general secretariat of Civil Protection, in direct cooperation with the Fire Department, have informed all the competent government agencies involved, as well as the regions and municipalities of the country, so that they are on increased civil protection readiness in order to immediately deal with any fire incidents.

In addition, the Fire Department appeals to citizens:

1. Be especially careful and avoid any activity that could cause a fire.

2. To monitor forest fire prevention information available on the website and official accounts of the Fire Service, Facebook and Twitter.

3. In the event that they notice a fire, they should immediately notify the Fire Service by dialing 199.

Finally, the Fire Brigade calls on all citizens to be particularly careful and in the event of a fire, for their own safety, to faithfully follow the instructions of the competent authorities.

For more information and self-protection instructions from the dangers of forest fires, citizens can visit the website of the General Secretariat of Civil Protection at www.civilprotection.gr.

SOURCE: CRETAPOST- CRETALIVE- SKAIGR

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