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For the forestry engineer Nikos Bokaris, the town of Mati, on the east coast of Attica, was a place conducive to deadly fires by gathering pine forests and many inhabitants in an urbanized area unsupervised at the foot of the wooded mountains, AFP indicated.
This time the inhabitants of Mati did not have the same luck as in the other summers in which they did not suffer from big fires, common in Greece during the summer.
"The pines were old, very big and big, they were the fuel needed for the flames to develop and move quickly, triggering a huge heat load," which fused to the bodies of vehicles explains Bokaris.
"We see it well with the example of California, even in countries that devote significant resources to the fight against fire, the coexistence between the urban fabric and a wooded environment represents a huge challenge ". defends Kostis Kalambokidis, geographer and expert in natural disasters.
The fire was triggered by extreme winds, with gusts of up to 100 km / h.
Prevention, the great absent
According to Kalambokidis, "it is true that the phenomenon was asymmetrical," said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
"We know very well that climate change is favoring more and more extreme weather situations," says this geographer, who believes that this is a good reason to improve risk management.
What was missing in Greece? What could have saved more lives? "Prevention, we are tired of saying it, to repeat it and that nothing changes", laments Christina Théohari, doctor in environmental sciences.
The main thing would have been the existence of an evacuation plan, particularly necessary as it is an area with narrow roads in poor condition.
Many victims were trapped in traffic jams, just as other people died fleeing to the cliffs, instead of the beach. This was the case of 26 people whose dead bodies were found Tuesday morning at Mati.
Short burns, gardens and patios full of grass, trees covering roofs of houses … The irregularities were numerous. Many of them were allowed by a weakened administration after eight years of austerity.
As evidenced by the great fires of 2007, during which at least 77 people died in the Peloponnese and the island of Euboea, "the fire did not wait for crisis to burn, but the lack of financial resources of the public administration does not solve anything, "recalls Bokaris.
Without learning the lesson
The budget of the fire department rose from 452 million euros (528 million dollars) in 2009 to 354 million (414 million dollars) last year, according to official data.
According to Theodari, the insufficient awareness and lack of training of the inhabitants in the prevention also favored the great impact of these fires.
For the university professor, Kostas Synolaki, specialist in natural disasters, "the alert should have taken place at the same time as the fire, in order to move the largest number of firefighters and the evacuation would start in time ".
Synolaki inquires about operational planning that ignores "all that modern technology allows," especially computer programs that help to anticipate the spread of a fire.
After 2007, Greece promoted a plan to improve its fire-fighting system, considered underdeveloped in air operations for the benefit of the fight on the ground.
"Finally, I do not know who did what they did or did not do, but what I'm sure of is that, saw the result, it did not work, "says engineer Bokaris.
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