A massive wildfire raged in the northern suburbs of the Greek capital on Monday, prompting widespread evacuation orders in suburbs and outlying areas of Athens as strong, swirling winds hampered the efforts of hundreds of firefighters and dozens of air tankers.
The fire started on Sunday near Lake Marathon, about 35 kilometres northeast of Athens. It crossed Mount Pendeli and reached the northern suburbs of the capital, where it burned several homes and businesses.
Greece was put on high alert, but late Monday night a drop in winds brought hope and authorities reported progress in battling the massive, fast-moving blaze that has spawned flames more than 25 metres high.
Fire brigade spokesman Colonel Vassileios Vathrakogiannis said firefighters were no longer battling a single front, but “numerous active localised fires”, mainly around Marathon and Pendeli.
Greek firefighters were due to be reinforced by forces from other countries as early as Tuesday, after Athens requested international help, activating Europe’s mutual civil protection mechanism.
Power outages, injuries and mutual aid
A blanket of smoke and ash enveloped central Athens as power cuts hit parts of the Greek capital and affected traffic lights at major central intersections.
Authorities said at least 18 people were injured, mostly from smoke inhalation, as the fire reached the outer sections of a suburb. Greece’s National Observatory confirmed late Monday that satellite images show the fire has affected about 25,000 acres.
France will provide a helicopter and 200 firefighters with 28 fire trucks; Italy, two water-dropping planes, and the Czech Republic, 75 firefighters and 25 vehicles, officials said. Serbia and Romania were also preparing aid. The foreign ministry of neighboring Turkey said it would send two firefighting planes and a helicopter, while Spain was also preparing reinforcements to send to Greece.
The fire ravaged pine forests dried out by repeated heatwaves this summer. June and July were the hottest months on record in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter on record. The early start to this year’s fire season has put a strain on Greece’s firefighting forces.
Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said earlier on Monday that it was “an exceptionally dangerous fire, which we have been fighting for more than 20 hours in dramatic circumstances.” Some burning areas on Mount Pendeli were particularly difficult to access, he added.
Evacuations
Three hospitals, including a children’s hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated Monday afternoon. Cellphones in the area received at least 30 alerts warning people to flee.
More than 700 firefighters, supported by 27 special forest firefighting teams and members of the armed forces, were battling the flames, with 190 vehicles, 17 water-dropping aircraft and 16 helicopters.
Three hospitals in Athens were on high alert, while paramedics and ambulances treated five firefighters for minor burns and respiratory problems, and at least 13 civilians. The Athens Medical Association warned people with chronic diseases, the elderly, pregnant women, children and people with respiratory and heart problems to be extremely careful.
The Greek coastguard has diverted all ferries from a nearby port serving several Aegean islands to another port. Gyms and hotels have been turned into evacuation centers.
Police said 380 officers participated in the evacuations and helped move more than 250 people out of the path of the flames.
Authorities said some people who refused to leave their homes later became trapped and had to be rescued, putting the lives of firefighters at risk.
However, it is not known how many of them had gone on holiday during the height of the summer season, and how many had obeyed evacuation orders or had been left alone to fight the fire.