2007 Press Releases
Second U.S. Wildfire Expert Team Visits Greece
October 17, 2007
From October 14–27, a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team, composed of U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) experts, is visiting Greece to assist with recovery efforts from this summer’s tragic wildfires and help with flood prevention planning. The team will be meeting with the Greek Forestry Service and will make joint visits to areas in the Peloponnese, including Egio and the ancient site of Olympia, which were severely burnt in the fires. This is the second U.S. team of experts to come to Greece, and continues the work begun during the fires by a team led by top U.S. Forest Service firefighter Tom Harbour.
The BAER team visit is part of an ongoing, larger American effort to assist Greece in its recovery. Immediately after Greece declared a state of emergency on August 25, USAID offered $700,000 in emergency funds and commodities to the Hellenic Red Cross and $1.2 million in protective gear for firefighters and technical assistance to the Greek government, for a total of $1.9 million in U.S. government funding. On September 19, acting USAID Administrator Henrietta H. Fore led a forum organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to garner American private sector support for the recovery effort. The U.S. Embassy in Athens also remains in contact with Greek-American charitable organizations, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in New York, and U.S. businesses.