The Greek Civil Protection ordered the evacuation of new localities in the northeastern suburbs of Athens on Monday, after the city of Marathon on Sunday evening, in the face of a violent fire that started on Sunday and is rapidly approaching the capital. “The Civil Protection forces fought all night and despite superhuman efforts, the fire continues to spread very quickly and is heading towards Penteli,” explained Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, spokesman for the fire brigade, during a press briefing on Monday morning.
At least five new towns were evacuated in the early morning, as well as two hospitals, one pediatric and one military, in Penteli, about fifteen kilometers northeast of the capital. Eight people were hospitalized for respiratory problems. “Forest fire near you. Follow the instructions of the authorities,” wrote the civil protection in text messages sent to anyone in the affected area, with instructions on the direction to take for evacuations.
510 firefighters mobilized
Greek authorities have opened the OAKA Olympic stadium in northern Athens to accommodate thousands of displaced people. The fire had already led to the evacuation overnight of eight villages and the historic town of Marathon, 40 km northeast of Athens, which has a population of more than 7,000. They were directed to the coastal town of Nea Makri. “We are facing a biblical catastrophe. Our entire municipality is engulfed in flames and is going through difficult times,” Marathon Mayor Stergios Tsirkas told Skai television. According to public broadcaster ERT, the fire front is now more than 30 kilometres long and some flames are over 25 metres high.
A total of 510 firefighters and 152 vehicles have been deployed, and 29 aircraft have been flying over the area since daybreak, Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said. The fires prompted Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to interrupt his vacation and return to Athens on Sunday evening.
Strong winds
By Sunday afternoon, firefighters had managed to control 33 of the 40 fires that had broken out in the past 24 hours. But the blaze continued to spread amid warnings of extreme weather conditions for the rest of the week. And smoke is now covering part of Athens. Greece’s Civil Protection Minister warned Saturday that half of the country was at high risk of fire until at least August 15 due to high temperatures, gusty winds and drought.
“Unfortunately, the wind intensity will continue to be significant in the coming hours and it is absolutely essential that citizens in the surrounding area follow the instructions given by the authorities,” Vathrakogiannis insisted. Temperatures of 39°C and winds exceeding 50 km/h are still expected in the region on Monday, according to the weather service.
Greece is particularly vulnerable to wildfires this summer, after a particularly dry winter. June and July were the hottest months since records began in 1960. Giorgos Tsevas, 48, from Polydendri, a village near the front of the fires whose name means “many trees” in Greek, was desperate on Sunday: “Everything is burning. I had two hundred olive trees, they are all gone.”
Kostas Lagouvardos, a research director at the Athens Observatory, warned on Sunday on ERTNews that the response to the fires must be swift, otherwise the fires will become uncontrollable given the current weather conditions. Scientists warn that fossil fuel emissions are worsening the duration, frequency and intensity of heatwaves worldwide.
Rising temperatures are leading to a longer wildfire season and an increase in the area burned by wildfires worldwide, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
