Forest fires that have been raging for days in north-eastern Greece continues to pose major problems for firefighters, although a fire just to north-west of Athens was largely under control.
The fire brigade spokesman Giannis Artopoios told Greek media on Friday.
The progress against the fire in the Parnitha Mountains near Athens on Friday morning was primarily thanks to less wind, he told broadcaster ERT.
However, the huge fires in the Dadia National Park and near the city of Alexandroupolis in the north-east of the country continued to rage unabated.
The fires in the area were already the largest in the history of the European Union, according to EU Crisis Commissioner Janez Lenarcic.
There are still “major problems’’ there, even with the wind easing somewhat in this region, the fire spokesman said.
On Thursday evening, the Greek fire brigade reported 69 new blazes across the country within the past 24 hours but most of them had been brought under control.
Spokesman Artopoios confirmed that many of the fires were arson but pointed out that it was very difficult to prove it.
Fires had broken out at short intervals in various places, especially at the two largest sources of fire, Parnitha and Dadia, but also on the island of Euboea, the spokesman said.
“We have leads, the authorities are investigating.’’
However, evidence such as accelerants was often hard to find after the fires, he said.
Such acts of arson were particularly difficult because the emergency forces had to intervene at various places at the same time within a very short time, instead of concentrating on one source of the fire.
“If there is a strong wind, there is hardly any chance of containing the fires immediately, Artopoios said.
