Wildfire burns through northern suburb of Athens as residents told to evacuate

The Guardian

3 days ago

A wildfire burned through a northern suburb of the Greek capital of Athens on Saturday and some residents were ordered to evacuate, the country's fire service reported.
Residents of the town of Kryoneri, 12.5 miles (20km) north-east of Athens, received three SMS messages to evacuate to safe areas, fire service spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakoyannis told reporters.
Greek media have shown houses on fire. Vathrakoyannis said: 'There have been reports of damages. We will take stock when the fires have been put out.'
'The real difficulties are ahead of us,' he said, adding that Greece has asked for six firefighting planes from the European Union's civil protection mechanism.
On site, 145 firefighters and 44 fire engines, 10 firefighting planes and seven helicopters were attempting to put out the fire, the origin of which is unknown. Four ambulances were treating at least five residents, most of them elderly with respiratory problems.
Temperatures reaching, or exceeding, 38C, dry conditions and high winds are fanning the flames.
Vathrakoyannis said that under such conditions wildfires 'expand very quickly and become dangerous. These conditions are expected to prevail over the coming days.'
The fire service is also dealing with three other major fires in the south-west on Greece's two largest islands – Crete in the south and Evia north of Athens – and also on the island of Kythera, north-west of Crete. At least 335 firefighters, 19 planes and 13 helicopters are involved, but can only operate in daylight. In total, 52 wildfires broke out across the country over the past 24 hours, Vathrakoyannis said.
Wildfires, many of them destructive, have become a common occurrence in Greece in recent years. Several have broken out in the past month.
A fire also hit the south of France late on Saturday, spreading towards a beach resort and forcing the evacuation of two campgrounds and some local housing.
Driven by strong winds, the fire in the Aude region on the Mediterranean coast near the Spanish border had already burned through 600 hectares (1,500 acres) after breaking out earlier in the afternoon, local officials said.
Some 630 firefighters backed by about a dozen planes were battling the fire, according to Aude's deputy prefect Rémi Recio.
Flames destroyed two houses and officials converted a gymnasium into a shelter, although the residents of about 10 evacuated houses were later allowed to return home.
Three firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire comes less than a month after the Aude region was hit by a major blaze that swept through 2,100 hectares (5,200 acres) near Narbonne, mobilising 1,000 firefighters.