Residents flee Greek wildfire as heatwave persists

Residents flee Greek wildfire as heatwave persists.

More than 40 blazes have broken out across Greece, including several close to the capital, Athens. The government has put several regions on high alert amid soaring temperatures and a drought.

Firefighters in Greece said Sunday they had quelled 33 of 40 wildfires.

Smoke from several wildfires covered Greece’s capital Athens on Sunday amid extreme weather warnings for the remainder of the week.

Hundreds of fires have broken out this summer across the country, which just recorded its hottest June and July on record.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cut short his holiday and returned to Athens on Sunday evening to help deal with the situation. 

Where are the latest fires?

One of the major blazes raged in the town of Varnavas, some 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of Athens in the region of East Attica.

Fire officials said a force of 250 firefighters, backed by 67 vehicles, 12 firefighting aircraft and seven helicopters were deployed, while residents were instructed to evacuate.

Fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told reporters that some of the flames were more than 25 meters high.

Late on Sunday, the fire service said it had called for the evacuation of several towns including the historic Marathon near Athens. 

Marathon, now with a population of around 30,000, is thought to be the site of a famed Athenian military victory over the Persian Empire in 490 BCE.

                                          The smell of smoke and soot pervaded Athens, with the sky darkening as a wildfire burned northeast of the Greek capital on Sunday More than 250 firefighters, 67 fire engines, 12 planes and six helicopters are fighting the fire, which broke out around 3 p.m. local time around 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Athens. The flames are moving fast toward Lake Marathon, an important reservoir supplying Athens with water, said Fire Colonel Vassileios Vathrakogiannis, a spokesman for the fire department. An unknown number of houses have been damaged. Vathrakogiannis said that winds reached gale force strength
Translate »