[2] The fires began in Grammatiko, about 25 mi (40 km) north-east of the Greek capital, Athens on 21 August 2009 and spread quickly towards the suburbs, engulfing fourteen towns within the next three days.

[4] The fires of 2009 began on the night of August 21, 2009 and burned over the next four days, covering approximately 21,000 hectares of pine forest, olive groves, shrub land and farmland.

The fires began in Grammatiko village, about 40 km north-east of Athens, and spread to the mountains of eastern Attica.

More than 1,000 fire-fighters and soldiers were placed on duty over the weekend, and a total of 19 planes and helicopters worked to fight the fires, dropping around 14,000 t (14,000,000 kg) of water on one day alone (24 August 2009).

Planting fire-resistant tree species in gardens, such as bay laurel, poplar, acacia and oak, can also help save homes.

Re-colonisation of burnt areas will be slow, commencing with insects, lizards and birds, with hares, partridges and foxes only arriving after the first rain has led to new growth.

The sites were saved, due to the fight of local residents during the night of 23–24 August, and the assistance of a northerly wind that helped contain the fires and avoid catastrophe to the ancient monuments and ecologically important area of Schinias.

In these areas, it is essential that there is intervention by the authorities to help forest regeneration because the pine trees are very young and do not have the capacity to create cones.

In some areas, cement dams have been constructed at some points, although experts question the logic of this, and claim that it is an excessive intervention into the environment.

In the secondary and tertiary burnt areas there are, however, insufficient logs of the right size for creating barriers to run-off erosion.

[8] The new Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Tina Birbili, has created a new draft bill which was announced on 27 October 2009.

This legislation would suspend all construction activity on burned forestland in Attica and other parts of Greece until authorities draw up comprehensive forest maps.

[9] The Hellenic Mapping and Cadastral Organization (HEMCO), established in 1986, will soon start operating a sophisticated system of forest land on the outskirts of Attica, with the aim of reporting back to the authorities the appearance of every new structure outside the town plan.

[9] The bill is to be submitted to the Greek Parliament in the first week of November 2009 and provides for the creation of a special state agency which will demolish illegally built homes on burned forest land and fine offenders.