The leaders of this all-male monastic republic declared a state of emergency Thursday as a 10-day-old forest fire raged out of control. The fire had burned over 2,250 acres of chestnut trees and thick brush by Thursday night, according to fire brigade officials. At one point it threatened three of the 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries on the forested peninsula that reaches into the Aegean Sea. Premier Constantine Mitsotakis ordered the Defense Ministry to dispatch more troops to help combat the fire. Under the state of emergency, the military will coordinate firefighting efforts. Authorities said 1,300 soldiers were battling the fire with the community's 1,400 monks, hundreds of civilian volunteers from neighboring regions and the crew of 10 fire engines. Strong winds kept firefighting planes from the peninsula Thursday. Two warships were anchored nearby in stormy seas, ready to evacuate monks and priceless treasures from the monasteries if needed. The fire brigade said it was difficult for land firefighting forces because of the lack of roads and firebreaks on the densely wooded, 30-square-mile peninsula. Cause of the fire was unknown. The Mount Athos religious comunity was founded in 963. It enjoyed administrative independence under the Byzantine and Ottoman empires and was made a theocratic republic under Greek suzerainty in 1927. It is governed by a civil administrator and a council of monks. Women and female animals are barred.
