1 of 3 | On Monday, Greek residents monitored the fire on Mount Penteli in northeastern Attica, but the fire raged throughout the night despite the efforts of civil protection forces. In the early hours of Tuesday, new evacuation orders were issued to residents near Athens in northeastern Attica and in the coastal town of Nea Makri. Photo by George Vitsaras/EPA-EFE
Aug. 13 (UPI) – According to sources, at least one person has died and many others have been injured in the major forest fire in Greece. Numerous buildings and thousands of hectares of land have been devastated.
On Tuesday, government authorities said the charred body of an unidentified 64-year-old woman was found shortly after midnight local time in a factory in the town of Vrilissia, less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Athens, the country’s capital.
In the early hours of Tuesday, new evacuation orders were issued for residents of the Athens area in northeastern Attica and the coastal town of Nea Makri.
Strong winds with speeds of 60 to 70 km/h and temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius are expected. More than 700 people, including 27 specialized forest fire teams and military personnel, are working to save Athens from the flames.
More than 24,000 acres of land have reportedly burned so far. Winds have temporarily abated but are expected to pick up again later today.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is due to chair an emergency meeting on forest fire control later on Tuesday, as local authorities are expected to remain on high alert over the next few days.
“Forty hours after the extremely dangerous forest fire broke out in Varnava,” the Prime Minister said, “we are now saying that there is no active front, only isolated hotspots.”
Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vasilis Kikilias had previously stated that 670 firefighters, 27 forest command units, 183 vehicles, 17 aircraft and 15 helicopters were initially deployed to fight the fires as international assistance arrived from France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Serbia and Romania.
Two monasteries were evacuated while hundreds of firefighters, over 180 vehicles and 32 aircraft fought the flames.
Flames up to 24 metres high were reported on Sunday as the forest fire quickly advanced southwards towards Athens. It broke out early that morning at Lake Marathon near Varnavas, about 35 kilometres northeast of the capital. With strong winds and temperatures around 4°C, the fire got out of control and spread to densely populated neighbourhoods. Temperatures are forecast to rise to almost 40 degrees Celsius in the coming days.
Forest fires are not uncommon in Greece, but the impact of the fires on urban life is considered unusual in the European country bordering Turkey.
In 2018, similar forest fires in a resort near Athens, also fueled by strong winds, killed at least 74 people and injured more than 150.
And in August last year, 18 people were found dead by Greek authorities in a forest near the Turkish border as they were on their way to Dadia National Park in Evros. The region had been devastated by forest fires for several days.
The ongoing fires around Athens are among 40 reported to have broken out across Greece, with firefighters battling some of the blazes after the country experienced its hottest June and July since modern weather records began in 1960.
