Fighting fire on several fronts

ATHENS – With nearly 80 dead and 187 wounded, it's already the worst forest fire in Greece for over 40 years, but not all missing: Wednesday after the devastating fires near Athens, special forces Burned in cars

After the fire in Mat station and in the nearby port city of Rafina, 79 dead have been discovered until now said fire spokeswoman Stavroula Maliri. Some were found in their cars with which they wanted to escape hell. In particular, in Mat and Kokkino Limanaki station, a quarter of about 40 km from the distant port city of Rafina Athens, even more casualties are to be feared. According to Maliri, firefighters have received dozens of phone calls from people looking for their loved ones.

The Mati fire was overpowered Tuesday, but in Kineta, 50 km west of the capital, a fire broke out on Wednesday. which destroyed many houses and cars. According to the firefighters, the houses were not threatened at the moment, but as a precaution, some neighborhoods were evacuated by Kineta

Meanwhile, the search for the culprits of the disaster continues . The prosecutor of the Supreme Court has begun to investigate the causes of the fires. Allegations that the government reacted too late were also heard.

Another 25 fires in Sweden

Sweden is still ravaged by devastating fires. In the country about 25 fires were counted. Civil protection considered that the situation was very serious but stable. Tuesday night, a fire in the Dalarna region was again out of control. But this was soon mastered by the aircraft fighting the fire, said Anneli Bergholm Söder, head of operations. Currently, rescuers focus on three large areas a few hundred kilometers north of Stockholm

Yosemite Park closed

In the US state of California, a forest fire that has been raging for nearly two weeks has resulted in the partial closure of the famous Yosemite National Park. All visitors had to leave the Yosemite Valley and adjoining areas until yesterday. The hotels and campsites have been closed, the access roads are affected. Since the beginning of the fire in the Sierra National Forest, to the west of the park, the area is surrounded by thick smoke. Despite a mbadive fight against fires, the so-called Ferguson fire is contained only at 25%. The flames destroyed more than 14,000 hectares of forest.

Moderate Problems

Heat also has consequences in Central Europe: In the metropolitan area of ​​Paris, traffic was restricted yesterday and today in the fight against nitrogen oxides. Vehicles particularly harmful to the environment can no longer circulate in an area bounded by the belt of the A 86 motorway. This affects the Paris region and a suburban ring.

In Germany, Hanover airport had to be closed in the middle of the holiday season on Tuesday. Persistent heat has damaged the northern railroad, the airport said.