Greece | Major wildfires near Athens prompt evacuation of Marathon town

(Athens) Large forest fires, some of which were still out of control Sunday evening, were burning in Greece and threatening the surroundings of Athens, including the historic city of Marathon, which has been ordered to be evacuated.

Smoke from the fires covered part of the capital, amid warnings of extreme weather conditions for the rest of the week.

Authorities ordered residents of the town of Marathon, 40 km northeast of Athens, to evacuate to the coastal town of Nea Makri for shelter.

As of Sunday afternoon, firefighters had managed to control 33 of the 40 fires that had broken out in the past 24 hours, firefighter spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told reporters.

The fires prompted Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to cut short his holiday and return to Athens on Sunday evening.

Greece’s civil protection minister warned on Saturday that half of the country was at high risk of fires until at least August 15 due to high temperatures, gusty winds and drought.

In the province of East Attica, a fire in the town of Varnavas was raging in an area of ​​scattered houses.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from at least eight nearby villages, while others struggled to save their homes by trying to put out the flames with makeshift means.

200 olive trees, all gone

“The situation remains dangerous because the fire is raging in an area where there are houses and has caused damage,” said Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, a spokesman for the fire brigade.

“Strong winds spread it in the blink of an eye, creating extreme behavior, with new fronts opening behind the containment lines,” he added.

Fire officials said a 250-strong force with 67 vehicles, 12 aircraft and seven helicopters had been deployed, supported by soldiers who were mobilised.

In Varnavas and its surroundings, residents have been ordered to evacuate.

“Every year it’s the same. We have to leave our homes (because of the fires). Thirty minutes ago we went to see our house and our cats,” Eugenia, on a motorbike, told AFP.

She said her village of Metohi was not under threat at the moment, but she was afraid of what might happen overnight.

Giorgos Tsevas, 48, from Polydendri, a village near the front of the fire and whose name means “many trees” in Greek, was desperate: “Everything is burning. I had two hundred olive trees, they are all gone.”

Aggravating weather factor

Another fire broke out earlier Sunday afternoon in Megara, western Attica, triggering an evacuation alert.

Near Thessaloniki (East), a fire in Langadas has been partially brought under control.

Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the Athens Observatory, told ERTNews on Sunday that the response to the fires must be swift, otherwise, given the current weather conditions, the fires could quickly get out of control.

With winds reaching 80 to 90 kilometres per hour in some areas, he added that Sunday was expected to be the most difficult day.

Greece is exceptionally vulnerable to summer wildfires, especially after a particularly dry winter. June and July were the hottest months since records began in 1960.

Scientists warn that human-caused fossil fuel emissions are worsening the duration, frequency and intensity of heatwaves around the world.

Rising temperatures are leading to a longer wildfire season and an increase in the area burned by wildfires worldwide, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.