Chios
fire burning for a fourth day, mastic trees damaged
Wildfires
were burning on Chios for a fourth day on Tuesday as authorities attempt to
assess the damage done to the island’s mastic production.
“Effectively,
half the island has been burned,” the island’s deputy prefect, Constantinos
Ganiaris, told Skai TV.
Firefighters
were battling three fronts one Wednesday. One was close to Yiannaki forest.
Officials
from the Agricultural Insurance Organization (OLGA) have arrived on the island
to inspect the damage done to the island’s rare mastic trees.
The
European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) estimates that the fire has
consumed a total of 12,740 hectares so far, dealing a massive blow not just to
the island’s agricultural economy, but also to the world supply of Chios
mastic, a resin used in a variety of food and cosmetic products which has
protected designation of origin status.
Yiannis
Madalas, head of the company behind Mediterra SA, a Chios Mastic Growers
Association company, estimated Monday that the areas hit by the wildfire
account for around 53 percent of the island’s total yield.
“Some 3,000
families live off the gum trees, which are the main source of income in the
south of Chios, while many more supplement their incomes with mastic
production,” Madalas told Kathimerini.
Madalas
said that it takes an average of five to seven years before the Pistacia
lentiscus begins producing the golden resin.
Chios
produces between 20-25 percent of the world’s mastic crop, mainly around the
village of Pyrgi, which was badly hit by the blaze.
Strong
winds
The island
is famous for its production of mastic, a natural, gum-like resin with a
distinctive flavour produced only by trees on certain sections of the island.
Used as a
natural chewing gum, a cooking spice and for pharmaceutical and cooking
purposes, mastic resin is a major source of income for the islanders.
The strong
winds were hampering efforts to extinguish the fires, despite the presence of
several hundred firefighters, soldiers and volunteers, as well as firefighting
planes and helicopters.
Wildfires
are common during Greece's long, hot summers, though some are believed to be
started on purpose.
A further
five forest and brush fires broke out on Monday across Greece, the Associated
Press news agency reports, while fire crews continued to fight six fires
already burning in other parts of the country.
The
government has requested the assistance of water-bombing aircraft from Spain
and Italy to help with the summer blazes.
Fires on
the Greek Island of Chios
A major
forest blaze broke out shortly after 2 am on Saturday morning, August 18, 2012,
on the Greek eastern Aegean Sea island of Chios. Hundreds of firefighters,
soldiers and volunteers were struggling for a third day Monday (August 20) to
tame a fire that burnt some 17,000 acres of forest, cultivated land and groves
of the island's famed mastic trees. Chios is famous for the production of
mastic, a gum-like resin with a distinctive flavor produced only by trees on
certain parts of the island. It is used widely in confectionery, cooking and
cosmetics and a major source of income. Local authorities said many of the
trees had been burned, while the island's beekeepers had also lost 60 percent
of their hives.
Smoke from the blaze, which was swept on by gale-force winds, was carried as far as the southern island of Crete, more than 230 miles away. Those gale-force winds are hampering efforts by about 360 firefighters, soldiers and volunteers, as well as firefighting planes, helicopters and 50 vehicles. Residents of nine villages and hamlets evacuated their homes over the weekend as a precaution.
This natural-color image was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellites on August 18, 2012.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from AP.
Smoke from the blaze, which was swept on by gale-force winds, was carried as far as the southern island of Crete, more than 230 miles away. Those gale-force winds are hampering efforts by about 360 firefighters, soldiers and volunteers, as well as firefighting planes, helicopters and 50 vehicles. Residents of nine villages and hamlets evacuated their homes over the weekend as a precaution.
This natural-color image was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellites on August 18, 2012.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from AP.