A massive forest fire broke out north of Athens on Sunday, darkening the skies over the Greek capital in the afternoon, reports said. GuardianPlanes, helicopters and fire engines tried to extinguish the fire, which was fanned by winds and heat that reached speeds of 80 to 90 kilometers per hour, on Sunday evening, but have been battling the flames since then. The fire could also reach the northern suburbs of Athens, and strong winds will make the work of extinguishing difficult.
Several settlements had to be evacuated as the flames reached a height of up to 25 metres. BBC The fire also reached Varnavas, 35 kilometers from Athens, on Sunday, setting fire to homes, burning an area of 100 square kilometers, and burning local olive groves. According to the newspaper, firefighters have to extinguish the fire in seven places, and the danger has already been averted in 33 places. Spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said at an emergency press conference early Monday morning that they worked throughout the night, “but despite superhuman efforts, the fire developed rapidly.”
Due to strong winds, the direction of the fire's spread is constantly changing, and the fire has also spread to the hill of Penteli, famous for its marble quarries, and to the neighboring Athenian suburb of the same name. A military hospital and a children's hospital in Penteli were evacuated at dawn on Monday. In other towns and villages, including Marathon, people have been asked to move to safer places.
Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire burning in Grammatiko near Athens on August 12, 2024. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
Civil Defence and Climate Crisis Minister Vassilis Kikilias told the Athens daily Ta Nea that they were fighting the fires in Kallitechnopoli and Grammatiko, but the situation had improved in Dionysos, Varnavas and Mikrohori. He said 670 firefighters, 27 forestry teams, 183 vehicles, 17 planes and 15 helicopters were currently fighting the blazes. Nikolaos Lavranous, head of the Hellenic Firefighters Association, told local news portal Vema that since Monday morning, firefighters from Eastern Macedonia, the Peloponnese and central Greece had arrived.
“Our whole city is burning and going through hard times.”
“Seven thousand people had to be evacuated to safety from the settlement, 40 kilometers from Athens, and at least two hospitals were evacuated,” said Stergios Tsirkas, mayor of Marathon. The sky above Athens is dark, it’s hot, and you can smell the fire everywhere. According to a local journalist, authorities sent out phone messages about the risk of fire and the evacuation of residents of affected settlements. Meanwhile, the Greek Ministry of Civil Defense and Climate Crisis issued a level 5 alert for the regions of Attica, Central Greece and the Peloponnese due to the extreme risk of fire.
A firefighting plane extinguishes a fire with water in Grammatik, Greece, August 12, 2024. – REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
European Union Copernicus Emergency Management Service Data Accordingly, we have created a map showing the areas affected by forest fires in Greece.
According to the BBC, Greece experienced its coldest winter on record last year and recorded its hottest temperatures in June and July this year. On Monday afternoon in Athens, the average wind speed is 32 km/h, but it could reach 50 km/h from the north-east. The newspaper says the winds will moderate on Tuesday and Wednesday and then pick up again. A yellow alert was issued in Greece on Tuesday afternoon due to expected temperatures of up to 40 degrees. The UN's specialized body warns that rising temperatures will increase the frequency of forest fires and the extent of the damage caused by the fires. We also wrote previously: In Greece, several people have died due to unusually high temperatures.
