VZCZCXRO3882
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHTH #1660/01 3461542
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111542Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2909
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 001660 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR EAID PREL SENV SOCI GR RU
SUBJECT: END-OF-FIRE SEASON UPDATE IN GREECE: SIGNIFICANT 
USG ASSISTANCE BUT GOG STILL LACKS COORDINATION 
 
REF: ATHENS 00851 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Greece had a low-intensity fire season in 
2008 with one major fire in July on the island of Rhodes that 
destroyed 13,000 hectares of land.  Fires reappeared in early 
December, hitting Rhodes again and burning over 3,700 
hectares of land.  The GoG continues to lack coordination in 
fire prevention and response among the relevant ministries, 
but had better success with its efforts on a purely 
operational level. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The GoG has welcomed USG efforts in technical 
assistance and requested additional training on arson 
investigation, fire prevention, and Burned Area Emergency 
Recovery (BAER).  As a gesture of appreciation for USG 
assistance on fires, the GoG sent five of their fire-fighters 
to assist in the California wildfires in August.  End Summary. 
 
General Overview of Fire Season 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Compared to the devastating fire-season last 
summer, this year's fire season can be described as 
low-intensity with the exception of the fires that hit the 
island of Rhodes in July and again in December impacting over 
17,000 acres of land.  July's damages included 7,000 hectares 
of forest and 2,000 hectares of agricultural land.  The 
Hellenic Fire Service (HFS) said it sent ten airplanes and 
four helicopters to assist in putting out the fire in Rhodes. 
 Despite HFS' attempt to spin the news positively, news 
reports cited "poor Greek precautions" on the fire situation, 
with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) saying that, 
"Rhodes paid the price this year for the insufficiency of the 
country's fire protection system." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Rhodes was again hit on December 3 when wildfires 
broke out and continued unchecked the following day.  HFS 
said it had difficulty reaching the island due to strong wind 
conditions that made it hard for fire-fighting aircraft to 
reach the island and meant that boats, confined to the port 
of Rhodes, were unable to transport fire-fighters.  The fire 
reportedly started with the burning of brushwood and gained 
momentum with the heavy winds, burning 3,700 hectares of 
forest and brush. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Man-made fires caused by negligence contributed to 
the most severe fires this season.  In the mountainous region 
of Greece, an individual accidentally set fire to a bee-hive 
next to a natural gas valve.  In another instance, a woman 
threw a burning pan into the woods behind her house, causing 
the area to catch on fire.  The HFS claimed to be active in 
investigating and arrested several suspects who deliberately 
set the fires.  (Note: According to a May 2008 USFS report, 
deliberate fires are an ongoing problem in Greece as land is 
burned in order to prepare the field for farms and to create 
grazing areas for animals.  End Note.) 
 
USG Technical Assistance Efforts 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Through USD 2.2 million in funding from USAID's 
Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the U.S. Forest 
Service (USFS) embarked in 2007 on a two-year cooperative 
effort to exchange information and technical expertise in 
wildfire management (reftel).  This included a USFS visit to 
Greece in May 2008 to evaluate the Greek fire prevention 
techniques and investigation and subsequently, the 
development of formal training courses for Greek officials 
involved in fire-fighting, protection of forests and crisis 
management.  This capacity-building and training is aimed 
mostly at the technical and administrative levels. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In 2008, USFS executed the following activities: 
 
-- US-based aerial supervision and ground crew training 
(April - May 2008) 
-- Wildland fire investigation and fire prevention training 
(May 2008) 
-- International seminar on forest administration and 
management (October 2008) 
-- Fire prevention study tour (November 2008) 
 
The USFS is planning the following collaboration for 2009: 
 
-- Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) case study and 
training (TBD) 
-- International seminar on watershed management (March 2009) 
-- Fire shelter training (TBD) 
-- Additiona fire investigation training (TBD) 
-- Additioal aerial supervision and ground crew training 
 
ATHENS 00001660  002 OF 003 
 
 
(TBD) 
 
GoG Feedback on USG Assistance 
------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) In general, all the Greek interlocutors were 
thankful for USG efforts on fire assistance and prevention. 
The HFS highlighted the usefulness of the training on fire 
arson and investigation in May and in November 2008.  The HFS 
requested additional training on arson-techniques and fire 
prevention for the Greek context.  In addition, the HFS said 
they would like to launch a targeted public awareness 
campaign to educate and sensitize citizens on fires caused by 
negligence. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The HFS is seeking fire-fighting aircraft.  We have 
made it clear that we are constrained in providing aviation 
equipment due to resources.  The HFS told EconOff in a 
December 4 meeting that they lease Russian aircrafts during 
fire-season and bid out the contract.  Greek interlocutors 
have told Director Tom Harbour in previous meetings that they 
prefer the Russian use of "foam" in fire-fighting aircrafts 
versus the use of "retardants" in US fire-fighting planes. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Yiannis Anastaskis, the advisor to Ministry for 
the Environment, Physical Planning, and Public Works 
(MinEnv), said the GoG would like the USFS to conduct 
additional BAER training and perhaps develop a BAER manual. 
Anastaskis told EconOff that a formal request from the GoG 
with details on BAER training would be provided once his 
assembled working group had reached a consensus on next steps 
for the protection of environment.  (Note:  Post is following 
up.  End Note.) 
 
Inter-agency Disconnect 
----------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) In spite of concerted USG focus on using 
assistance to buttress Greek coordination on fires, the GoG 
continues to suffer in this area.  The last senior-level 
Inter-Ministerial Committee meeting took place in June 2008 
and the next one is planned for March 2009.  (Note:  As 
reported in reftel following the 2007 fires, there continues 
to be a lack of urgency and senior-level attention responding 
only in moments of crisis.  End Note.)  On a working-level, 
participants gathered from the HFS, Civil Protection, and the 
Geotechnical Institute of Greece, on October 30 to discuss 
the roles and responsibilities of each agency and Ministry. 
The Ministry of Agriculture (MinAg) was noticeably absent. 
Advisor to SecGen of Environment Yiannis Anastaskis led the 
meeting and told EconOff that he would report on the outcome 
and plans from the working group. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) GoG working level officials are concerned about 
the lack of coordination.  In a separate meeting with the 
Forestry Service, representative Vereniki Louka said the 
ministries had divided responsibilities with little cohesion, 
so it was hard to know what was going on at a national level. 
 Director of Emergency Planning at the Secretariat of Civil 
Protection Fivos Theodorou said his Secretariat was trying to 
coordinate with all relevant ministries, but the MinEnv was 
not actively engaged.  (Note: Greek interlocutors in the NGO 
community have complained to EconOff that the MinEnv is 
primarily focused on public works projects and does not place 
a high priority on the environment.  End Note.) 
 
¶13.  (SBU) HFS General Apostolos Gerokostas reported to 
EconOff that coordination was certainly better than last 
year, but there needed to be a general understanding that 
this was a common problem and needed to be dealt with by all 
the relevant parties.  Gerokostas said there could be greater 
involvement by the Ministry of Agriculture, under which the 
Forestry Service is housed. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) The 2007 fire should have precipitated greater GoG 
engagement on disaster response and crisis management on 
both a cohesive policy and operational level.  Although there 
has been some degree of improvement on the operational level, 
there remain communication gaps, especially in the 
coordination of over-arching policy.  Each ministry points 
the finger at the other party for not doing more.  The 
fire-fighters hit the ground running with the equipment they 
have available and the Forestry Service tries to clean up the 
mess, while Civil Protection vies with the MinEnv to lead the 
effort on senior-level inter-agency coordination.  USG 
assistance has made some inroads by providing Greece with 
technical expertise on an operational level, but if the fires 
 
ATHENS 00001660  003 OF 003 
 
 
reach a catastrophic magnitude, as happened in the 2007 fire 
season, a well-coordinated and well-managed policy out of the 
GoG would be surprising, particularly in light of recent 
events.  End Comment. 
SPECKHARD