The three day fire that started over the weekend and ravaged most of Evia has been contained but only after destroying thousands of hectares in swathes of pine forest around the town of Limni, prompting the Alternate Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas to declare a state of emergency.
The declaration was made to facilitate the flow of compensation funds for damages and overcome otherwise lengthy bureaucratic procedures normally used for the release of funding.
Limni Mayor Christos Kalyviotis thanked the minister for swiftly meeting the residents' demand to declare a state of emergency in the area, which will mean the drawing up of special plans to address the problems and enlist the entire state machinery.