Rafina

July 2005 Forest Fire

On July 28, 2005, a forest fire began near the area of the hills southwest of Rafina which began at 11:00 EET (8:00 AM GMT). The fires ravashed quickly with windspeeds of 60 to 70 km/h threatening forests around the hills and the small mountain range that runs from north of Spata to near Rafina consuming almost most of the forests and burned homes in two of its settlements including Kallitechnio. Tens of homes were burned in flames and became homeless and displaced 15,000 including outside the municipality. Flames ravaged near Rafina almost threatening properties. Traffic were redirected or halted as Marathonos Avenue were shut down from its junction to near Pikermi. the fires also threatened Neos Vourtzas near Penteli. Smoke were active for the past couple of hours and at 5 pm EET, windspeeds calmed down and changed direction to the northeast near Rafina. The smoke became less dense to a point where the fire can stop. Firefighters put out the fire and the threat decreased. The flame didn't reach parts of Rafina but the smoke came close to Rafina but declined in density. Hydro near and in the nightime hours were cut off for the area and in the effected areas because many poles were burnt down.

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