Arsonists bring hell to the Athenians

Athens is still under threat. Hundreds of Greek firemen, assisted by air support from several European countries, are fighting against forest fires that broke out three days ago in the region of the Greek capital. As the Ta Neaheadline — "Thousands of refugees on the streets of Athens" — suggests, large numbers of people have been evacuated, bringing back memories of the 2007 fires, which killed 77 and destroyed over 250,000 hectares of land. The left-wing daily has published a three-point list enumerating the causes of the current catastrophe — "1. All the evidence indicates the fires were started by arsonists. 2. Fire-fighting planes were slow to reach the area. 3. Intervention was delayed by a lack coordination between fire crews." These conclusions are shared by another newspaper, To Ethnos, which further notes that "authorities underestimated the extent of initial outbreaks on Friday 21 August," and "did not recall firemen who were on holiday until Sunday".