Firefighters and volunteers managed to contain the forest fire that threatened ancient Olympia last night. Olympia on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece is considered the cradle of the Olympic Games.
The historic ruins have been saved for now, but according to Nektarios Farmakis, governor of the region of Western Greece, “the danger is not over.” The hope is that the fire can be brought under control with helicopters and fire-fighting planes in the coming hours.
The fire brigade and local authorities have built a last line of defense against the flames around the ancient site and the stadium of Olympia. The Greek Civil Defense ordered the residents to leave by text message.
In the historic ruins of Olympia, which is a World Heritage Site, today the Olympic flame is lit for the games. The extinguishing system of the ancient landmark was activated. Water sprayers keep everything moist.
In 2007, devastating fires killed dozens of people in this region of the western Peloponnese. Parts of the historic Olympia were badly damaged at the time. Its own extinguishing system did not work at the time.
Other regions of Greece are also suffering from fierce fires. Nature is bone dry due to the ongoing heat wave. In the past ten days, the mercury sometimes rose to values between 40 and 47 degrees. A small spark is enough to start devastating wildfires.
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