Crews battle scattered fires in Athens suburbs, helped by calmer winds
Authorities were racing to extinguish as much of the wildfire as possible ahead of Tuesday afternoon, when winds were predicted to pick up again.
Firefighters in Greece continued to battle scattered fires on Tuesday, hoping to contain the remains of the major wildfire that had burned into the northern suburbs of Athens, triggering evacuations and leaving at least one person dead.
Strong winds fanning the flames on Sunday and Monday had died down overnight, and the fire department said the blaze no longer had any active, advancing fronts and that firefighters were concentrating their efforts on extinguishing the flames in hundreds of slow-burning areas.
Authorities were racing to extinguish as much of the fire as possible ahead of Tuesday afternoon, when winds were predicted to pick up again, with a forecast of gusts reaching up to 37-43 miles (60km-70km) per hour.
Reinforcements in the form of water-dropping aircraft, firefighters and vehicles were arriving from France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Serbia and Romania.
The blaze began on Sunday afternoon near Lake Marathon, about 22 miles (35km) northeast of Athens, crossed Mount Pendeli and descended onto the northern and northeastern suburbs of Athens.
Firefighters found the burned body of a woman in an industrial building in the suburb of Vrilissia just after midnight. The woman was believed to have been an employee who became trapped inside the building in an area that had been under evacuation orders.
More than a dozen people were treated by paramedics, mostly for smoke inhalation, while five firefighters suffered light burns and breathing problems, the fire department said.
Three hospitals, including a children’s hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated on Monday afternoon.
At least 30 push alerts were sent to mobile phones in the area warning people in several Athens suburbs and settlements further from the city to flee.
The flames, which reached heights of about 25 metres (80 feet), were fanned by strong winds that hampered the efforts of more than 700 firefighters and nearly three dozen water-dropping planes and helicopters on Monday.
Six water-dropping planes and six helicopters took off at first light on Tuesday, the fire department said, to back up the hundreds of firefighters on the ground.
Dozens of homes and businesses were reported to have burned, although authorities did not yet have an exact number.
The wildfire raced through pine forests left tinder-dry by repeated heatwaves this summer.
June and July were the hottest months ever recorded in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter ever.
An early start to the fire season this year has strained Greece’s firefighting force.
“Firefighters have been working at full tilt for months,” said Nikos Lavranos, head of Greece’s main firefighters’ union.
“They are exhausted.”
On Monday, police said 380 police officers had assisted in evacuations, helping to move more than 250 people away from the path of the flames.
Authorities said some people who refused to leave their homes later became trapped and required rescuing, endangering the lives of firefighters.
Meteorologists warned of the increased danger of wildfires because of weather conditions from Sunday until Thursday. Dozens of other wildfires also broke out in several parts of Greece on Monday.
Wildfires are frequent in the Mediterranean country during its hot, dry summers, but authorities have said climate change is fuelling bigger and more frequent blazes.
