Fires consumes acres of pristine Greek forest.
Reuters
2012-08-19
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ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION).
STORY: More than 16 thousand acres of pristine forest and farmland, including rare mastic trees, on the Greek island of Chios were destroyed on Sunday in a fire that is still raging.
The fire started in the early hours of Saturday morning, with gale force winds pushing it southward on a fiery 25-kilometer path.
Billowing brown smoke choked the island, which lies northeast of Athens off the coast of Turkey, as 21 fire trucks and dozens of volunteers battled the flames to prevent them from reaching the cluster of villages that traditionally produce the rare mastic tree resin, which only grows on Chios.
The government has requested the assistance of water-bombing aircraft from Spain and Italy to help with summer wildfires.
In 2007 at least 67 people died in chaotic wildfires that lasted for days on the Peloponnese Peninsula.
STORY: More than 16 thousand acres of pristine forest and farmland, including rare mastic trees, on the Greek island of Chios were destroyed on Sunday in a fire that is still raging.
The fire started in the early hours of Saturday morning, with gale force winds pushing it southward on a fiery 25-kilometer path.
Billowing brown smoke choked the island, which lies northeast of Athens off the coast of Turkey, as 21 fire trucks and dozens of volunteers battled the flames to prevent them from reaching the cluster of villages that traditionally produce the rare mastic tree resin, which only grows on Chios.
The government has requested the assistance of water-bombing aircraft from Spain and Italy to help with summer wildfires.
In 2007 at least 67 people died in chaotic wildfires that lasted for days on the Peloponnese Peninsula.
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