Evacuations near Athens as new wildfire erupts amid Greece heat wave

Achilleas Chiras/Associated Press

Urgent evacuation orders have been issued for five communities south of Athens as a massive wildfire, fueled by strong winds and intensified by Greece’s first summer heatwave, continues to burn near the capital. The blaze began on Thursday in the seaside area of Palaia Fokaia, where temperatures have surged to nearly 40°C (104°F).

The fire department has deployed 90 firefighters, supported by eight water-dropping planes and five helicopters, to battle the inferno, News.Az reports citing The Independent.

Reportedly originating within a populated area, the flames have sent thick plumes of smoke billowing across the sky, with local television footage showing at least one house already consumed by the blaze.

As a precautionary measure, the coast guard has positioned two patrol boats and nine private vessels on standby in the Palaia Fokaia area, ready for a potential evacuation by sea. A lifeboat is also en route to assist with any maritime rescue operations.

“We’re telling people to leave their homes,” local town councilor Apostolos Papadakis said on Greece’s state-run ERT television.

The entire wider Athens area, as well as several Aegean islands, were on Level 4 of a 5-level scale for the danger of wildfires due to the weather conditions, with the heat wave expected to last until the weekend.

Earlier in the week, hundreds of firefighters took four days to bring a major wildfire under control on the eastern Aegean island of Chios. More than a dozen evacuation orders had been issued for Chios, where the flames devoured forest and farmland. The fire department said one woman had been arrested on suspicion of having contributed to that fire’s start – reportedly by discarding a cigarette.

Wildfires are frequent in Greece during its hot, dry summers. 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. More than 100 died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.

News.Az