Wildfire rages near Athens
A wildfire raged closer to Athens today, forcing evacuations of at least 11 towns and villages, Reuters reported citing Greek authorities.
The fire broke out on Sunday afternoon, and by this morning was burning in several areas, including the ancient town of Marathon and Mount Penteli north of Athens.
At least three hospitals had been evacuated.
Key events
AFP reports from Penteli:
Thick smoke from burning trees filled a small square in Penteli where local resident Mariana Papathanasi said they could only pray that their houses would be saved.
“There is still a strong fire. Some houses were burned after midnight and we are trying to protect our local restaurant,” the 49-year-old supermarket employee told AFP.
“It hurts, we have grown up in this forest. We feel great sadness and anger,” 24-year old Penteli resident Marina Kalogerakou told Reuters outside her home, which the flames had nearly reached.
Watch footage from Greece as firefighters battle wildfires.
Wildfire ‘extremely dangerous’, Greek minister says
Helena Smith
Greece’s minister of climate crisis and political protection, Vassilis Kikilias, has just made statements.
Describing the wildfire as “extremely dangerous,” he said firefighting forces were struggling in “dramatic conditions” exacerbated by terrain turned into a tinderbox because of prolonged drought.
It’s an extremely dangerous fire that we’ve been battling for over 20 hours in dramatic conditions because of the very strong winds and prolonged dryness.
More than 670 fire fighters, backed by 17 waterbombing planes, 15 helicopters and trucks were trying to bring the wild fire under control, and forces were being “continually reinforced.”
“Right now the battle is being waged on two fronts, one in the area of Kallitechnoupolis and the other in Grammatikos … we will continue with all our might until it is brought under control and the last front is put out,” he said.
Another evacuation order has been issued.
Greek officials advise staying in with windows shut due to fires near Athens
Helena Smith
Yesterday, Greek authorities warned people to stay indoors with their “windows closed” as more than 400 firefighters battled to contain blazes on the outskirts of Athens that were forcing the evacuation of entire communities, including at the historic site of Marathon.
Health officials urged people to limit their movements and stay inside, saying the thick smoke had seriously affected the quality of the air across the Attic basin.
By 4pm the skies above the Greek parliament in central Syntagma Square had turned a yellowish brown as ash clouds pushed by the winds travelled southward.
At least eight people were taken to hospital with respiratory problems.
The prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, cut short his holiday and returned to Athens on Sunday evening to deal with the crisis.
Unprecedented temperatures – June and July were the hottest on record – after the warmest winter ever have turned Greece’s terrain into a tinderbox, environmentalists have said.
Read the full story here.
Here are the latest images from Greece, as emergency services battle a wildfire.
The Greek authorities have issued several evacuation orders.
Wildfire rages near Athens
A wildfire raged closer to Athens today, forcing evacuations of at least 11 towns and villages, Reuters reported citing Greek authorities.
The fire broke out on Sunday afternoon, and by this morning was burning in several areas, including the ancient town of Marathon and Mount Penteli north of Athens.
At least three hospitals had been evacuated.
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