FACTBOX-Greece learned few lessons from 2007 fire

(Reuters) - A huge wildfire that tore through scores of homes and thousands of acres of forest near Athens, forcing thousands of residents to flee, started to recede on Monday.

Critics say much of the destruction could have been avoided if Greece had learnt some lessons from its worst wildfires in living memory in 2007, which killed 65 people in a 10-day inferno on the island of Evia and the southern Peloponnese peninsula.

Here are five facts about the two fires and their handling:

AREA

In 2007, the fire tore a huge path of destruction across inaccessible mountains of the Peloponnese peninsula, with fire fighting often relying mainly on aircraft. Scant roads not only made the job difficult but also trapped villagers, resulting in deaths. By contrast, east Attica is a an area with numerous summer resorts, more easily accessible mountains and extensive road cover that helped residents easily flee the flames.

TECHNICAL MEANS

Although Greece has more fire fighting planes than other Mediterranean countries dealing with regular summer fires, the Peloponnese blaze showed they were not enough and help was sought from abroad. In the two years since that blaze, the number of water-bombing planes remains the same, at 21. Greece also rents about 11 helicopters every summer, increasing the number according to needs. The Communist KKE party leader urged the government on Sunday to urgently rent more planes, saying there were huge gaps in infrastructure.

COORDINATION

Local mayors made frantic calls to Greek television stations asking for fire fighters to be sent to their communities in an apparent failure of a central body to respond to such requests, similar to the chaotic handling of the 2007 fires. The government denies accusations by local mayors that the Attica fire could have been contained early on if water-drop planes had been dispatched to the area immediately.

"There were gaps in coordination. There was a 2-hour delay in the first fire fighting operation from the air," said the far-right LAOS leader George Karatzaferis. "We have learned nothing from the big fires of 2007."

PREPARATION

Environmentalists say that although Greece has one of Europe's biggest and most expensive fire fighting mechanisms, it suffers from lack of forest management and public education on how to prevent and manage fires. Greenpeace Greece said nothing had changed since 2007 on this front. The mayor of Marathon told Greek media that when he cut fire-belts to protect his Attica community and nearby forests, he was sued by the forest department.

POLITICAL FALLOUT

In 2007, the government quickly handed out 3,000 euros ($4,290) in cash to villagers who lost their homes and went on to narrowly win re-election a few weeks later. For some of these Peloponnese farmers, this was more money than they had seen in years. In Attica, the fire destroyed mostly holiday or suburban homes of affluent Athenians, unlikely to be appeased with a little cash. Facing an early election by March and a slowing economy, the ruling conservatives will not find it as easy to deal with the political fallout of this destruction.