"ATHENS- When the wind whipping wildfire through the pine forests around the Greek coastal village of Mati suddenly changed direction on Monday afternoon, it left residents with perhaps 20 minutes to save their lives. For the 81 or more who died, it was already too late.

“Not even 1,000 airplanes would have helped prevent this catastrophe,” said Dimitris Stathopoulos, head of the union of fire brigade employees. “In that cursed hour, the fire became a blowtorch aimed at the settlement.”

Fires are not uncommon in Greece’s forests, which cover almost half its territory, and the Mount Penteli area has suffered regularly in the past decades."

Renee Maltezou reports for Reuters July 25, 2018. [2]