Evangelos Tournas said gale-force winds created "extremely difficult conditions resulting in many cases where aircraft either cannot draw water or cannot carry out drops due to extreme turbulence."
More than 400 firefighters were battling blazes in the area of Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth © Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP
The sheer number of fires, combined with extreme weather conditions, "have pushed the (fire department) to its limits," Tournas said in a televised address.More than 400 firefighters were battling blazes in the area of Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) northwest of Athens, the fire department said.Nearly 100 firefighters were fighting another blaze in Aigialia in the northern Peloponnese.But priceless hours were lost Saturday with the wind keeping dozens of water bombers from operating.The fire department's deputy spokesman Yiannis Artopios told state TV ERT that the wind was so strong that firefighters on the scene "couldn't even open their vehicle doors."Though the winds were expected to ease later Saturday, the greater Athens area and nearby Voiotia and the island of Evia were under near maximum fire risk on Sunday, the civil protection ministry said.'Burned completely'Dimos Economou, who lives close to Porto Germeno in nearby Vilia and came to help, said many homes had burned.
