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Nikos Toskas, Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection, said the belief was based on satellite imagery and ground inspections by police and firefighters at the scene of a deadly fire in the city from Penteli, in the east of Attica. According to government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, who described the firefighter's unprecedented challenge, Rafina-Pikermi mayor Vagelis Bournos said that although 15 fires broke out on three fronts on Monday in this part of the country, south of Greece. Climatic conditions, including very strong winds, played a major role, the human error being partly at the origin of these deaths, citing the absence of warning as well as the longer-term issues including poor urban planning and the impact on public services of the years of austerity. 19659004] "We could have had fewer casualties with a well – organized evacuation plan but when the fire started in the municipality of Penteli there was no order for it. evacuation for the eastern part (from Attica a) because of the direction of the wind, "Bournos told CNN Wednesday in an interview, adding:" The fire was underestimated. "
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The geography of Mati and its environs also appears to be a key factor in the high number of victims. Many houses were built at random and with little regulation in the wooded areas and were therefore extremely vulnerable as the fire tore the dry forest, which consisted mainly of highly flammable pines.
Added to that, roads in the area are narrow and unsuitable for a large number of cars, according to Bournos.
"We are talking about a densely populated area that was built without any urban planning," Bournos said. "The streets were not designed for such heavy traffic … four thousand homes and their inhabitants tried to use streets that could not integrate them all"
Residents said that they could not leave the area by car at the approach of the traffic because of congested roads. Photographs taken later showed streets blocked by abandoned and torched cars, some with doors left open, suggesting that people who could not get out of Mati had decided to run away on foot.
Asked if the authorities would be better prepared If a similar fire hit the Mati area, Bournos said: "There is nothing left to burn now, nature and houses have been totally destroyed. . " We are here, we are committed to rebuilding everything that was, but now
But Bournos and Karavellas cite the unusually extreme weather conditions that contributed to Monday's disaster: high temperatures, strong winds from 39 west (a rare phenomenon in the region) and a dry winter that created bricklaying conditions.
As the global climate continues to change, this type of fire will become more likely, warns Karavellas.
Melissa Bell and Saskya Vandoorne reported from Mati and Judith Vonberg wrote in London. Chris Liakos from CNN contributed to this report.
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