Residents flee as Greece wildfires rage
Civil protection forces battled hard throughout the night, but despite superhuman efforts, the fire evolved rapidly
Civil protection forces battled hard throughout the night, but despite superhuman efforts, the fire evolved rapidly
Greece ordered fresh evacuations near Athens on Monday as wildfires spread despite “superhuman” efforts to contain the flames, firefighters said.
At least five more communities were told to flee by civil protection authorities on Monday, after hundreds of people evacuated Sunday from at least eight villages.
“Civil protection forces battled hard throughout the night, but despite superhuman efforts, the fire evolved rapidly,” fire brigade spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said.
“At this moment it has reached Mount Pentelicus and is headed in the direction of Penteli,” he added.
The Mediterranean country is exceptionally vulnerable to summer blazes. After the warmest winter on record, Greece also experienced its hottest June and July since reliable data collection began in 1960, and the summer season has seen fires burn daily.
Temperatures are forecast to peak at 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) in Greece on Monday, with wind gusts of up to 50 kilometers per hour.
Two hospitals in Penteli — one for children and a military facility — were evacuated at dawn, Vathrakogiannis said.
The brigade has deployed 510 firefighters and 152 vehicles, while 29 aircraft were due to set out at first light, he added.
“Forest fire near you. Follow the instructions of the authorities,” said SMS messages sent to people in the Attica region on Monday, indicating in which direction to flee.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cut short his holiday and returned to Athens Sunday evening to deal with the crisis.
By Sunday afternoon, firefighters had quickly dealt with 33 out of the 40 blazes that had broken out in the past 24 hours.
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