2023-08-23 06:43:14
The large forest and bush fires in north-east Greece spread further west on Wednesday night. As the state broadcaster ERT reported in the morning, there was now a fire in the direction of the city of Komotini. The largest fire front continued to rage in the Dadia National Park in the direction of the Turkish border – now for the fifth day in a row. In Athens, too, the situation remained tense; there it has been burning in the western suburb of Aspropyrgos since Tuesday.
During the night, explosions might be heard in the industrial suburb, factory buildings were destroyed by the flames. It also continued to burn north-west of the city towards the mountains of Parnitha. There, the fire brigade fought all night to prevent the flames from spreading to the mountains. Parnitha is the green lung of Athens and is also a national park area. The fire brigade was deployed with 65 fire engines, and at dawn the massive operation from the air began once more with seven fire engines and eight helicopters.
Overall, there are at least 15 major or larger fronts in Greece, satellite images showed. The forecast for the risk of forest fires for Wednesday is slightly better than on Tuesday, according to civil protection. The Meltemi wind, which is typical for this time of year, should no longer blow so stormily. However, there will still be local wind speeds of around 50 kilometers per hour, the Greek weather service said. Accordingly, the risk of forest fires remained high to very high in many parts of the country.
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