Dramatic moments for the people of ten of the Greek villages in Albania, as fires approach them after a three days inferno in the area.

In the municipality of Dropolis in the village of Grapse, two houses, an old church and a warehouse were burned and the lives of three elderly people were threatened. An old church was also burned in Frastani, while a fire threatens a large gas installation and several factories in Georgoutsates.

The area and especially the villages there, are inhabited by an indigenous Greek population, known as Northern Epirus at the southern part of Albania.

In the municipality of Finiki a great ecological disaster is taking place, as a big part of the large natural park “Mple Mati” (Blue Eye) is on fire.

The villages of Petsa, Muzina and Kardaki are immediately threatened, while the fire front is heading for Droviani.

The inhabitants, led by Dropolis mayor Achilleas Dotsikas, are struggling to put out the strong fiery fronts. Both Detsikas and the mayor of another Greek village Leonidas Christos, asked for the help of Greece as local forces are unable to cope adequately with the situation. As the website himara.gr points out, the Albanian government’s assistance is incomplete as it has sent only one fire truck with three(3) firefighters!

In response to the request for assistance, the Greek government responded immediately and has sent two CL-415 firefighting airplanes directly from Thessaloniki to participate in the task of extinguishing fires around the Greek villages.