Firefighters in Western Attica contained a large wildfire near the village of Psatha on the night of Monday, August 3, by cutting special firebreak zones known as "Antinero," according to Fire Service sources.
The wildfire entered its fifth consecutive day on Tuesday, August 4, with active fronts still burning. The most worrying areas were Louba and Lakka Kalogirou, where only ground crews were operating after aerial firefighting aircraft were grounded for the night. In total, 526 firefighters, 29 ground patrol teams and 141 vehicles were deployed at the scene, including firefighters from Romania and France.
In the Psatha area, the fire burned a large section of forest but left many pine trees standing, a detail that raised questions online about why the trees had survived.
Why the pine trees survived
A member of the Facebook group Mandra-Idyllia Oi Poleis Mas, which represents Mandra, Erythres, Vilia and Oinoi, wrote in a post that for some mysterious reason the fire had not burned the tops of the pines across a large part of the forest and had instead passed only through the forest understory. The post described the pines as orange at the bottom and green at the top, meaning they would continue photosynthesis and other biochemical processes and stay alive, while the orange, burned parts would dry out.
Fire Service sources said the trees' survival was not due to any mysterious or random factor, but resulted from the Antinero firebreak zones created during the fire. These are not prevention zones cut in advance, the sources said, but special fire suppression zones opened during the operation itself by fire crews and other responsible bodies working together.
What the Antinero program does
Antinero is the national program for preventive clearing and forest protection, according to the report. Its main goals are reducing flammable material in forests and slowing the spread of wildfires.
These particular zones were opened on the night of Monday, August 3, while the fire was still burning in the Psatha area, and were identified as the main reason the fire front was halted. Construction machinery and specialized Fire Service equipment cut paths through the forest that blocked the fire's advance.
Bulldozer cuts a firebreak at Kandili
At the Kandili firing range, known as Pedio Volis Kandyliou, a bulldozer worked directly beside the flames to open an Antinero zone, preventing the fire from spreading further.
Firebreaks protected Vilia and Parnitha
One firebreak zone was cut from north to south through the area of Agios Nektarios, Kryo Pigadi and Agia Paraskevi. It stopped the fire's advance from west to east, a path that had put the village of Vilia at risk.
A second, larger firebreak zone was cut northeast of Agios Nektarios to block the fire from spreading toward Vilia and the Parnitha mountain area.
