Greek firefighting authorities have tripled the number of firefighters sent to contain a massive wildfire that is raging just 44 kilometres north of the country’s capital.
Roughly 670 firefighters flanked by 30 water-dropping planes and 180 vehicles have been deployed to contain a massive wildfire burning through the northern fringe suburbs of the Greek capital on Monday.
Up to 380 police officers and 77 vehicles assisted 250 residents of at-risk regions in evacuating. Three hospitals in Athens were put on heightened alert to treat potential injuries.
Greek fire department spokesman Vassileios Vathrakogiannis said strong winds had created “dangerous situations”.
“Unfortunately their intensity is expected to increase in the coming hours, and in any case citizens of the areas where the fire is developing must follow the directions of authorities,” he said.
Authorities claim some flames to be 25 metres tall, with the blaze mainly burning on two fronts.
The “exceptionally dangerous” fire is raging through the particularly difficult-to-reach areas on a mountain northeast of Athens, Greek Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said. Firefighters have been attempting to contain the wildfire for more than 20 hours, he added.
A children’s hospital, a military hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated early Monday, while evacuation orders were issued for more than a dozen areas, including Marathon and several Athenian suburbs.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reportedly returned from his holiday in Crete to help spearhead the firefighting response from Athens, which is blanketed in smoke.
Wildfire ‘red alert’ to continue
The fire started on Sunday and quickly raced through pine forests left bone-dry by repeated heat waves this summer, coming on the heels of a particularly dry winter. The flames were fanned at an exceptional speed due to gale-force winds.
Local media reported two firefighters were slightly injured, while several civilians were treated in hospitals for smoke inhalation.
Authorities in nearby suburbs opened at least one sports hall and provided hotel rooms for evacuees, while yet more suburbs were put on standby for potential evacuation.
Meteorologists and government officials have warned of the heightened danger of wildfires because of weather conditions from Sunday until Thursday, with half of the country under a “red alert” for wildfire hazard.
Wildfires are frequent in Greece during its hot, dry summers, but authorities have said climate change is fuelling bigger and more frequent blazes.
In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee in their cars. More than 100 people died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.
Last year, wildfires in Greece killed more than 20 people, including 18 migrants who were trapped by the flames as they trekked through a forest in northeast Greece and were caught by a massive fire that burned for more than two weeks.
One Greek firefighting veteran told Euronews that local policymakers need to widen their scope of prevention and suppression to contain the blazes expected to burn for many more months than the traditional summer season.
