On Mount Barnes, on the outskirts of the Greek capital, more than 500 firefighters are working to curb the flames, with the help of nine helicopters, five planes, the police and the army. In a statement, the fire department said it hoped the fire would stop within a few hours. According to the site reports, thick smoke is spreading over Athens. The fire damaged part of the power grid in the urban area surrounding the city, and restoration work is currently underway.
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Photo Gallery: A flaming European tourist paradisePhoto: MTI
Temperatures in the area remain above 40 degrees Celsius, although Deputy Civil Defense Minister Nikos Hardalias said the situation improved on Wednesday due to wind and humidity. He added that nearly 80 fires have been reported across the country, but most of them have already been contained. Earlier flames broke out on the island of Rhodes and near the Turkish border, as well as in the town of Varimpombe, 20 kilometers north of Athens, where they spread to smaller cities in the region.
Several cars and homes were set ablaze and more than 300 people were evacuated from their homes. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mykotakis was also present at the scene, saying that fortunately the fires had not killed anyone so far. But he added that the country was facing its hottest temperatures in decades, with temperatures in some places exceeding 43 degrees Celsius.
In southern Turkey, along the coast, forest fires are devastating
The situation is dangerous around the popular resorts of Antalya and Mugla, but they fought hard in the Manavgat, Marmaris and Milas regions. In these places, panicked tourists fled by car, but even by speedboat. The fires are fueled by hot air from Africa, intense heat and strong winds. Fortunately, most of the wildfires that broke out a week ago are now extinguished. Eight people have died, about 30 people are being hospitalized, thousands have fled their homes and hundreds of pets have died.
This is Turkey’s worst natural disaster in the past 10 years, with 95 thousand hectares of forests and pastures burned so far. Firefighting planes arrived from Spain and Croatia to assist with rescue operations. Special units skilled in fighting fires came to the aid of the Turkish Flame Knights from Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia and Ukraine.
In all, a thousand firefighters battled the flames, deploying 13 aircraft, 45 helicopters and drones.
There were 800 fire places in southern Italy
According to a summary by Italian firefighters, fires broke out in about 800 locations over the weekend, mostly in the south of the country. After two days of futile fighting in Sicily, 200 people had to be evacuated as the flames reached Catania, where the airport was temporarily closed.
But the situation was not better in Pescara either, where 800 lives had to be saved.
Close to Madrid caught fire
A forest fire broke out east of the Spanish capital, about 70 kilometers away in the San Juan Reservoir, a very popular place among Madridists. The flames were later put out.
(Cover Photo: Forest fires in Turkey on August 3, 2021. Photo: Emre Tazegul/MTI)
