Tatoi: A fire protection scheme that was never implemented

The “holes” in prevention which, despite the announcements of all governments, never close, emerged in the most tragic way during the recent catastrophic fires. In the case of Tatoi, the repeated warnings of the Association of Friends of the Estate, already in 2011, about the danger of fire that threatened the area were not heeded.

In fact, just last June, after the, albeit belated, cleaning of two paths inside the historic core, they noted in their announcement that, “This project, although important, is infinitesimal in front of what needs to be done on the property for its fire protection.” According to the Association, hundreds, if not thousands of pines, have fallen on many kilometers on the roads inside the estate, have dried up and are extremely dangerous, so they had to be removed. However, the work did not continue, with the tragic consequences that we see today”,  the president of the Association Mr. Vassilios Koutsavlis emphatically told ot.gr.

Last May, the Association reiterated in public debate the need for a long-term strategic fire protection planning for the area, supporting the need to save the historical and cultural capital of the estate by prioritizing the protection of the forest ecosystem, as Tatoi steps on its history and the uniquely beautiful forest that is now lost.

In the forest fire, roofs and containers

The flames left an a post-apocalyptic terrain. “The whole historical core was lost. The catastrophe is unspeakable. Most of the 42,000 acres must have been burned, centuries-old trees lost, the rich forest disappeared. The roofs of the buildings of the Directorate and the Staff have burned. Two of the containers, which contained movable objects and rare archival material, caught fire and no one knows what was inside,” notes Mr. Koutsavlis. In fact, it is noteworthy that, already in 2012, the Ministry of Culture had proposed to the Friends Association the preparation of a plan to evacuate the movable historical objects of the estate that are stored inside the estate waiting to be preserved and exhibited in future museums.

The Association had also proposed a forest management plan for the royal estates which should be “run” throughout the year, as they need constant interventions to be kept in a manageable state. The snow of last winter, with the passage of “Medea”, worsened the situation, as hundreds of trees, mainly pines, had fallen and even in areas that were not accessible.

The Friends had prepared a series of scientific proposals, but the proposed interventions did not proceed (cleaning, tree thinning, opening of new fire protection zones, widening of roads and alleys, installation of fire detectors, etc.). They also proposed, with the imminent connection of the estate with water authority EYDAP, the installation of fire hydrants and water jets in the entire historic core and the creation of reservoirs with the waters of Parnitha. “It simply came to our notice then. Our generation and the next ones will not relive the historical core as it was”, notes Mr. Koutsavlis.

The next steps

According to the Hellenic Society of Environment and Culture (ELLET), Tatoi within a century experienced two other similar fires in 1916 and 1945, as well as many smaller ones and managed to be resurrected from its ashes. Its post-fire management, as reported by ELLET experts, must be urgent, in order to reduce erosion due to heavy rainfall in the area in early October, to avoid floods and to restore vegetation with an appropriate selection of plant species.

For its part, the Association of Friends of the Tatoi Estate activated on Sunday the program “Every child and a tree for Tatoi” based on the corresponding initiative taken in 1901 by the then Queen Sofia and the Philodasiki Society and planted the hills of Athens with the first being Philopappou hill. The planting will be done at the suggestion of the Forest Service and each tree can have a label with the name of the child who planted it. At the same time, members of the Association have started offering money in order to start the effort to restore the destruction suffered by the Tatoi estate.