What we know about the multiple fires raging at the gates of Athens

Faced with their burning homes, thousands of Greeks were forced to evacuate. On the night of Sunday 11 to Monday 12 August, major forest fires broke out in Greece, most of them around Athens. Despite the efforts “superhumans” deployed in recent hours by firefighters, according to their spokesperson, the fire that started in the village of Varnavas continued to spread “very quickly” Monday morning. Here is what we know about the situation on the ground.

Around forty fires started

According to Greek public television channel ERT, the fire front now extends over more than 30 kilometers. About forty fires were recorded by the Greek authorities on Sunday. About forty kilometers northeast of Athens, in the province of Eastern Attica, a forest fire raged in an area populated by a few houses in the municipality of Varnavas. These fires released so much smoke that part of the Greek capital was plunged into a cloud on Sunday afternoon.

Another fire was identified on Sunday in Megara, this time about forty kilometers west of Athens. Finally, a third fire, more than 500 kilometers from the capital, broke out in Langadas, near Thessaloniki.

Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the Athens Observatory, warned on Sunday on ERT News that the response to the fires must be rapid, otherwise the fires would become uncontrollable given the current weather conditions.

Greece on Monday asked the European Union for help in fighting the fires near the capital. “The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated at the request of the Greek authorities,” EU spokesman Balazs Ujvari said in a statement, adding that Italy, France, the Czech Republic and Romania were sending reinforcements. France announced it was sending 180 firefighters and civil security personnel and 55 trucks as reinforcements to Greece.

Varnavas fire ‘continues to spread very quickly’

On Sunday afternoon, the fire brigade spokesman told the press that his staff had managed to control 33 of the 40 fires declared over the weekend. But the situation deteriorated on Monday. “The civil protection forces fought all night and despite superhuman efforts, the fire continues to spread very quickly,” explained Vassilis Vathrakogiannis regarding the fire of Varnavas.

“Strong winds have spread [l’incendie] in the blink of an eye, creating extreme behavior, with new fronts opening behind the containment lines,” added the spokesman. A total of 670 firefighters and 183 vehicles have been deployed, and 32 aircraft are flying over the area. “Despite a rapid intervention yesterday in just seven minutes, we were unable to control the fire”also declared the Minister of Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias.

The largest fire in Varnavas continues to spread, according to the Greek daily. Kathimerini, who described him on Monday morning as having reached “uncontrollable proportions, despite fighting [des pompiers contre les flammes] which lasted all night”In the morning, the fire was approaching the town of Penteli, 30 kilometers from Varnavas. In Langadas, however, the fire was partially contained.

Other localities evacuated near Athens

In Varnavas, despite the intervention of 165 firefighters, notably aided by seven planes and five helicopters, the inhabitants of eight villages were finally ordered to evacuate on Sunday. In this region of South Attica, the mythical city of Marathon also had to be emptied of its 7,000 inhabitants, during the night from Sunday to Monday. They were asked to take shelter near the city of Nea Makri, on the coast. “We are facing a biblical catastrophe. Our entire municipality is engulfed in flames and is going through difficult times.”the city’s mayor, Stergios Tsirkas, told Skai television channel.

As the fire approached Athens, five other localities were evacuated on Monday, as well as two hospitals, one pediatric and the other military. “Due to the wind direction, we have decided on a preventive evacuation (…) The fire is very close”Simos Roussos, mayor of Chalandri, one of Athens’ largest suburbs, told public broadcaster ERT.

Their residents received a text message from the civil protection asking them to “[suivre] instructions from the authorities”with instructions on how to properly carry out evacuations. These thousands of displaced Greeks can find refuge in particular in the OKA Olympic stadium, north of the capital, opened specifically by the authorities. Temperatures of 39°C and winds exceeding 50 km/h are expected in the region on Monday, according to the weather service, which predicts extreme conditions throughout the week.

Climatic conditions favourable to fires

Until August 15, half of the country was exposed to a high risk of fire, the Greek Minister of Civil Protection announced on Saturday, due to a combination of three extreme weather factors. First, temperatures reaching 39°C, after temperature records already broken in June and July, the hottest months ever recorded since statistics began sixty years ago.

The minister had also warned that winds of over 90 km/h, blowing in gusts, were expected over the weekend and at the beginning of the week, which could fuel possible outbreaks of fires. Finally, the drought that Greece is currently experiencing, after a particularly dry winter, is the last risk factor contributing to the spread of these fires.

Sunday was the day announced as the most difficult by the fire brigade spokesman, due to strong winds. But gusts remain, on Monday, estimated at 7 on the Beaufort scale, which could further complicate the task of firefighters. This fire revives memories of the disaster of the Mati fire, the coastal area near Marathon, during which 104 people died in July 2018 in a tragedy blamed on delays and errors in evacuations.

If Greece is Particularly vulnerable to forest fires, the season for these fires is lengthening globally, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which also warns of an increase in the area burned by the flames.

Since the 19th century, the Earth’s average temperature warmed by 1.1°C . Scientists have established with certainty that this increase is due to human activities, consumers of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). This warming, unprecedented in its speed, threatens the future of our societies and biodiversity. But solutions – renewable energies, moderation, reduction of meat consumption – exist. Discover our answers to your questions on the climate crisis.