ATHENS, Aug 12: A major forest fire was raging out of control on the northern fringes of the Greek capital Monday, triggering numerous evacuation orders for Athens suburbs and outlying areas as strong winds hampered the efforts of hundreds of firefighters and dozens of water-dropping planes.
The blaze that began Sunday afternoon was racing through pine forests left tinder-dry by repeated heat waves this summer. June and July of this year were the hottest months ever recorded in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter ever.
Authorities were faced with “an exceptionally dangerous fire, which we have been fighting for more than 20 hours under dramatic circumstances,” Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said mid-morning Monday. The fire was burning mainly on two separate fronts, with some parts in particularly difficult to reach areas on a mountain northeast of Athens, Kikilias said.
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The fire department said 685 firefighters, backed by 27 teams specially trained to tackle wildfires and including more than 80 armed forces personnel, were battling the flames. More than 190 vehicles were deployed, while 17 water-dropping planes and 16 helicopters were providing aerial support.
A children’s hospital, a military hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated early Monday, while more than two dozen emergency push alerts were sent to cellphones in the area. Several homes were burned, although the exact number was not immediately clear.
More evacuation orders were issued for suburbs of the capital as strong winds continued unabated. Fire Department spokesperson Col. Vassileios Vathrakogiannis said authorities had been faced with more than 40 flareups of the blaze since the early hours of Monday in areas where the flames had somewhat abated.
Three Athens hospitals were put on heightened alert to treat any potential injuries. Paramedics and ambulances provided treatment to two firefighters — one for light burns and the other for breathing problems — while 13 civilians were also treated for breathing problems from the thick smoke, Vathrakogiannis said.
Greece’s coast guard ordered all ferries going to and from the nearby port of Rafina, which serves mainly the Cycladic islands and Crete, to be diverted to the port of Lavrion due to the fire.
Authorities in nearby suburbs opened at least one sports hall and were providing rooms in hotels for evacuees, while yet more suburbs were put on standby for potential evacuation.
The police department said 380 police officers with 77 vehicles, 36 motorcycles, three buses and four vans were assisting in the evacuations, and by mid-morning had helped move more than 250 people away from the path of the flames. It posted a video on its social media channels showing police officers carrying elderly people in their arms out of houses and to waiting vehicles, against a backdrop of a night sky turned red from the flames and smoke.
The fire was burning in a wide arc on the capital’s northeastern fringes, sending a blanket of smoke over central Athens on Sunday, darkening the sky. It began Sunday afternoon about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Athens and was fanned by strong winds that quickly drove it out of control. Authorities said flames at times towered more than 25 meters (80 feet) in height.
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 placed under a “red alert” for wildfire hazard.
The fire department appealed to residents to follow evacuation orders issued by civil protection, with authorities noting that some people who had refused to leave their homes later became trapped and required rescuing, endangering the lives of firefighters.
Wildfires are frequent in Greece during its hot, dry summers, but authorities have said climate change is fueling 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 became trapped by the flames as they trekked through a forest in northeastern Greece and were caught by a massive fire that burned for more than two weeks. (AP)
