A fast-spreading wildfire a tore through several neighborhoods close to the Greek capital of Athens on Monday, prompting authorities to urge residents to evacuate their homes.
Some 685 firefighters and 32 water-bombing aerial units have been deployed to extinguish the blaze that began Sunday near the town of Varnavas, north of Athens, local authorities said.
Emergency crews have been tackling “an extremely dangerous fire” for more than 20 hours, under “dramatic conditions” exacerbated by strong winds, prolonged drought and impenetrable terrain in dense, unburnt forest, according to the climate crisis and civil protection minister, Vassilis Kikilias.
The blaze showed no sign of subsiding, with 40 flare-ups recorded since the early hours of Monday morning, the fire services said.
Officials have not said how big the fire is, but Greek public broadcaster ERT estimates it exceeds 30 kilometers (about 19 miles).
Fires could be seen raging near houses on Greek TV. Some yards were burning. Not all residents have left affected areas, instead staying behind in an effort to save their homes.
Fire authorities warned Monday that the wildfire was raging towards Penteli, around 16 kilometers (about 10 miles) northeast of Athens, with “great momentum.” The area lies at the foot of Mount Penteli, which is surrounded by swathes of wooded terrain, according to Reuters.
One local said the sight of flames across her local forest “hurts,” according to Reuters. “We have grown up in this forest. We feel great sadness and anger,” said Marina Kalogerakou, 24.
“Things are very difficult and there is constant resurgence, raining ashes,” one visibly exhausted firefighter told Greek TV.
Another resident crashed their car into a pine tree while trying escape the blaze, Reuters reported. “I couldn’t see,” said Pantelis Kyriazis, as he pointed to his bleeding elbow.
Further south, in the area of Dioni, a resident faced “suffocating” clouds of smoke, as he doused his home with water, according to the Associated Press.
“The wind would go in one direction and then in the other. The smoke was suffocating. You couldn’t see. Your eyes teared up. You couldn’t breathe,” said Spyros Gorilas.
Although wildfires are common in Greek summers, climate scientists say that unusually hot and dry weather linked to global warming make the blazes fiercer and more common. Greek authorities have battled dozens of blazes already this summer after enduring its hottest June and July on record.
Kikilias warned over the weekend that “extremely high and dangerous weather conditions” would continue through Thursday.
Since Sunday, health and emergency workers treated 13 citizens and two firefighters with burn and respiratory injuries, fire services said. Three hospitals in the Attica region were on heightened alert. Two dozen children were evacuated from a hospital in Penteli, according to the health minister, Adonis Georgiadis.
“Winds overnight remained strong creating dangerous conditions. Unfortunately, their intensity is expected to increase in the next few hours and the citizens of the areas where the fire is developing should in any case follow the instructions of the authorities,” fire service spokesman Vasilios Vathrakoyiannis said.
Officials also said that homes have been damaged, without specifying how many.
The wildfire has raised fears that Greece could be heading for a repeat of last summer, when blazes scorched through several regions and islands, including its heavily-forested national park, known as the “lungs of Athens.”
CNN has reported that a recent spike in the number of disappearing people in Greece could be linked to extreme heat in the country. In June, several tourists disappeared after going for a walk and were later found dead in several locations across the country. Authorities have warned people not to underestimate the impacts of searing temperatures.
