Greece fights wildfires amid gale-force winds
ATHENS (Reuters) -At least one person died and homes and farmlands were destroyed as wildfires stoked by gale-force winds broke out across Greece on Friday, from the southern outskirts of the capital Athens to regions near Ancient Olympia.
A major blaze broke out in the small town of Keratea southwest of Athens. Firefighters discovered the body of an elderly man in a burned-out structure there, Greek Fire Brigade Spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said during a briefing.
In the region of Ancient Olympia in the southwest of the country, huge flames devoured olive groves and forestland. Another fire broke out on the touristy island of Kefalonia.
Much of the region around Athens has seen barely a drop of rain in months.
Wind gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour fanned the flames, setting olive tree orchards alight. Homes were engulfed as locals wearing flimsy face masks assisted firefighters.
Witnesses said the wind gusts were so strong that dousing some areas was near impossible.
"The wind would push it back," a Keratea resident told Reuters.
High winds are expected through the weekend and beyond.
At Ancient Olympia, an extensive region in the western Peloponnese that includes the site of the first Olympic Games, firefighters were battling a blaze fanned by interchanging winds.
"If the wind doesn't die down we will have huge problems," Ancient Olympia vice-mayor Georgios Linardos told state broadcaster ERT.
Gale-force winds caused extensive delays in the sailing of ferry boats from ports around Athens. On the island of Milos, two Vietnamese holidaymakers drowned at sea amid the high gusts, a coast guard official said.
Greece and other Mediterranean countries are in an area dubbed "a wildfire hotspot" by scientists, with blazes common during hot and dry summers. These have become more destructive in recent years due to a fast-changing climate, prompting calls for a new approach.
Parched southern France is currently facing its worst wildfire in decades, where fires are contained but not over.
(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac, Daria Sito-Sucic, Edward McAllister and Michele Kambas; Editing by Mark Porter)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
12 hours ago
- The Star
Major French wildfire is unlikely to be under control until late on Sunday
A firefighter is silhouetted while conducting a water rescue operation at sunset amid land scorched by a wildfire near Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, southern France, August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Manon Cruz TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY PARIS (Reuters) -A wildfire in the southern French prefecture of Aude is not expected to be under control until late on Sunday, the regional chief firefighter said on French television. The fire, which began Tuesday, is one of the largest recorded in France since 1949. Spread over 16,000 hectares (around 40,000 acres), it has led to one fatality, the injury of 19 firefighters and six civilians, and several dozen homes have been destroyed. "The fire is contained but not controlled. We still have hot spots (...) until Sunday evening the fire will not be brought under control," Colonel Christophe Magny told a news conference broadcast on BFM TV. All of the local departmental roads have been reopened, but the entrance into the wildfire zone is prohibited due to the risk of rekindling, the local French prefecture said in a statement on Saturday. French authorities have attributed the fire to the impact of climate change. An orange heatwave warning - the second highest warning level that encourages people to remain vigilant - is in effect for the department until midnight on Sunday, the prefecture said. Before the fire began, the region's wine growers had dug up an extensive area of their vineyards, which traditionally serve as a natural, moisture-retentive firebreak, as declining wine consumption and subsidies have reduced profits. (Reporting by Forrest Crellin and Claude Chendjou; editing by Barbara Lewis)
The Star
13 hours ago
- The Star
Two Vietnamese tourists confirmed dead as firefighters battle blaze near Athens for second day
ATHENS (AFP): Hundreds of firefighters on Saturday battled for a second day a large wildfire near Athens that left one dead, with strong winds raising fears it could spread. A fire department spokesman said over 260 firefighters with nearly 80 fire engines and 12 aircraft were deployed in Keratea, a rural area some 43 kilometres (27 miles) southeast of Athens. "The fire has weakened, but there are still active pockets," the spokesman told AFP. Dozens of people were evacuated late Friday from homes and an elderly care centre as the flames neared the nearby coastal resort of Palea Fokea. Firefighters later found the remains of an elderly man in a hut near Keratea. Gale-force winds on Friday also caused the deaths of two Vietnamese tourists who fell into the sea at Sarakiniko beach on the Cycladic island of Milos. The 61-year-old woman and 65-year-old man were on a cruise ship group visiting the lunar-like, volcanic rock beach, the coastguard said. A coastguard spokeswoman told AFP the woman had fallen into the water, and the man had tried to help her. Greece's national weather service EMY said winds of up to 74 kilometres (46 miles) an hour were forecast for Saturday. The weather on Friday disrupted ferry travel for tens of thousands of summer holidaymakers. A sailing ban on Athens ports was lifted Saturday. - AFP
The Sun
13 hours ago
- The Sun
Massive French wildfire contained but 'not under control'
DURBAN-CORBIÈRES: French firefighters said Saturday that the country's biggest wildfire in at least half a century was contained but would not be brought under control before Sunday evening. The fire near the Mediterranean coast has ravaged a vast area of the southern Aude department at the peak of the summer tourist season, killing one person and injuring several others. 'The fire is contained but ... until Sunday evening the fire will not be under control,' said Christophe Magny, chief of the region's firefighter unit. Authorities warned that Sunday's forecasted hot, dry winds -- similar to those when the fire began -- and a heatwave alert with temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius would keep the some 1,400 firefighters mobilised on high alert. 'The firefighters will do their utmost before the return of the tramontane' this weekend, the president of the Aude departmental council, Helene Sandragne, told AFP, referring to a northerly wind that regularly blows through the area. The blaze -- the largest in at least 50 years -- tore through 16,000 hectares of vegetation, disaster officials said, revising an earlier estimate of 17,000 hectares. About 2,000 people were evacuated, though local authorities allowed them to return home on Friday evening. In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, a 65-year-old woman was found dead Wednesday in her home, which was devastated by flames. Authorities said one resident suffered serious burns and four others were lightly injured, while 19 firefighters were hurt, including one with a head injury. Experts say European countries are becoming ever more vulnerable to such disasters due to intensifying summer heatwaves linked to global warming - AFP
