Fire Watch

[Bill Smyth]

Those of us who are lucky enough to be here will have seen the fire/smoke spotting plane in the air. Because of the lack of rain the authorities are very worried in case of fire.
The scuttlebutt is that heavy fines are being imposed on people who are burning anything. Smoke seen from the air is a great giveaway.
Bill Smyth

[Gavlah1973]

Sat at Nondas a couple of years ago on our last day watching the planes swooping into the sea opp Athina fillimg up the buckets as they battled a fire about 10km from San Stef

2 days later they had storms and torrential rain

[Lesley]

Fires i.e. burning rubbish or weeds etc are not permitted in Greece between May 1st - end of October - this has been an enforcement as long as I can remember........

[geordieborn]

The dates may vary a little, but it's the same in most of southern Europe.

[Jimbo]

Some years ago we witnessed the effects of the huge fire in the Peloponnese. Kalamata was shut for days, and we were on the first plane to arrive. We could see the widespread smoke for quite a while on approach. The bus journey across the mountains to Tolon was frightening, because the road was a black strip through a vast field of red glowing embers - really a vision of Hades. The bay in Tolon is quite sheltered, so the water-bombing planes, including a a rare Russian jet version, were loading all day, every day.

I'm totally in sympathy with the restrictions after that experience. Olive trees are full of oil, so they burn very well. Corfu is covered in olive trees!

[gillie]

Yes it was scary arriving at kalamata! The air was still full of falling ash and small fires kept popping up by the side of the road. The devastation was dreadful. Also the amazing luck as the fires missed one building or area of land when all those nearby were burnt. We've never had such a quiet coach journey across from Kalamata to Tolon. We'll never forget it.

[Karen]

We were in Lesvos one year and they had terrible fire in Turkey, devastating for them, but the views were spectacular and we could see the planes and helicopters dropping the water.

[Karen]

Gosh what an experience, Jim and Gillie!

[Jimbo]

Gillie's right. When we walked out of the plane's door it looked as though it was snowing. Nobody spoke on the bus until we stopped at a taverna on the summit of the Taegetos  mountains for a beer break. Okay, some people had coffee. I suspect some had a swift Metaxa or two! The devastating fires were arson, to get insurance. I was very impressed by the skill of the pilots who had to skim the water and scoop their tanks full. Of course, forest fires are a vital part of the ecosystem, and they are often started by lightning.

All this was nothing compared to driving at night in the rainy season in Zambia, where I lived for four years, surrounded by burning bush and constant lightning. That's how savanna regenerates.

[hobbes]

Going slightly off topic here, but I've always wondered with the planes-when they scoop water from the sea, is it just water of could there be fish and (shudder) octopus scooped up too? (I have a real phobia of octopus, so please no-one tell me they have seen them in the sea at SS!)

[Karen]

Going slightly off topic here, but I've always wondered with the planes-when they scoop water from the sea, is it just water of could there be fish and (shudder) octopus scooped up too? (I have a real phobia of octopus, so please no-one tell me they have seen them in the sea at SS!)

You wouldn't want an octopus landing on your head!

We were in San Stef some years ago and there were dead jellyfish swept up in the shore.

[geordieborn]

Not quite an octopus, but cuttle fish, which I understand can give you a nasty bite !

[Karen]

Not quite an octopus, but cuttle fish, which I understand can give you a nasty bite !

Ouch!

[hobbes]

la la la I'm not listening (or reading)  I have always told my husband the first time I see one in the sea I will NEVER go in again!

[Karen]

la la la I'm not listening (or reading)  I have always told my husband the first time I see one in the sea I will NEVER go in again!

Haha! I trod on something prickly in the sea once and I'm allergic to all stings and bites, took piriton straight away and it was fine.