Athens.-Greek firefighters battled scattered fires early Tuesday in hopes of containing the remnants of a massive wildfire that swept through the northern suburbs of the capital Athens, prompting evacuations and killing at least one person.
Strong winds that fanned the flames on Sunday and Monday eased overnight, prompting firefighters to declare there were no longer any active and advancing fronts and allowing them to concentrate their efforts on extinguishing the blaze in hundreds of smoldering areas. More aircraft and firefighters from other countries are expected to arrive after Athens asked the European Union’s joint disaster response mechanism for help.
Authorities were racing against time to make as much progress as possible before Tuesday afternoon, when winds are expected to pick up again with gusts of 60 to 70 kilometers per hour (37-43 miles per hour).
France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Serbia and Romania have sent seaplanes, firefighters and vehicles to reinforce the firefighting efforts. Turkish Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said two planes and a helicopter had taken off from the country on Tuesday morning bound for Greece.
“I wish all the best to our colleagues who work under the motto ‘Forests are the common heritage of the world,’” Yumakli said on social media X.
Relations between Athens and Ankara are often tense, with disputes including territorial claims in the Aegean Sea, but the neighbours often put aside their differences when natural disasters such as earthquakes or fires strike and send aid to each other.
The fire started Sunday afternoon near Lake Marathon, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of Athens, spread up Mount Pendeli and north and northeast of the Greek capital.
Firefighters found the charred body of a woman in an industrial building in the suburb of Vrilissia shortly after midnight. She is believed to be an employee who was trapped inside the building, which is in an area under evacuation orders. More than a dozen people were treated by paramedics, most of them for smoke inhalation, and five firefighters suffered minor burns and breathing problems, the department said.
Three hospitals, including one for children, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated on Monday afternoon. At least 30 alerts were sent to the cellphones of residents in several Athens suburbs and further afield urging them to flee.
The flames, which reached a height of about 25 metres (80 feet), were fanned by strong winds on Monday, hampering an operation involving 700 personnel and nearly three dozen planes and helicopters.
Six planes and six helicopters were scrambled early Tuesday morning to support hundreds of firefighters working on the ground, the department said. Dozens of homes and businesses have burned, but there was no official toll.
The fire spread through pine forests, which were dry after repeated heat waves this summer. June and July were the hottest months ever recorded in Greece, which also experienced its warmest winter on record.
The fire department on Tuesday reported the arrest of two teenagers the day before on suspicion of setting a fire in Glyfada, a southern suburb of Athens, as firefighters were focused on battling the blaze in the north of the city. The Glyfada fire was quickly extinguished.
Although wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country during its hot, dry summers, authorities say climate change is causing larger and more frequent fires.
In 2018, a massive fire swept through the coastal town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping residents in their homes and on the road as they tried to flee. More than 100 people died, including some who drowned while trying to swim away from the flames.
Last year, 20 people lost their lives due to the fires in the country, including 18 migrants who were trapped by the flames while walking through a forest in the northeast.Infobae.
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2024-08-14 00:11:48
