A local resident walks towards fire with a branch to use it to dominate the flames during a wildfire near Penteli, 12 August 2024. (Photo by Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP)
Athens, Greece: A major wildfire raged out of control in the northern suburbs of Athens on Monday, triggering evacuations of several areas as swirling winds hampered the efforts of hundreds of firefighters and dozens of water-dropping planes.
The massive, fast-moving blaze sent flames to heights of over 25 meters (80 feet) as Greece sought assistance from other countries, activating Europe's mutual civil protection mechanism.
The fire began Sunday afternoon about 35 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of Athens, burning several homes and businesses and sending a blanket of smoke and ash over the city center. Power cuts hit parts of the Greek capital and affected traffic lights at major central junctions.
Authorities said 15 people were injured, mostly due to smoke inhalation, as the blaze reached outlying sections of a suburb about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the city center. Greece’s National Observatory said late Monday that satellite images show the blaze has affected about 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres).
Greek firefighters saw a fence to enter a field as they try to extinguish a wildfire near Penteli, 12 August 2024. (Photo by Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP)
France would provide a helicopter, Italy two water-dropping planes and the Czech Republic 75 firefighters and 25 vehicles, officials said, while Serbia and Romania were also readying aid. Neighboring Turkey's Foreign Ministry said the country would dispatch two firefighting planes and a helicopter, while Spain was also finalizing reinforcements to send to Greece.
The wildfire raced through pine forests left tinder-dry by repeated heat waves this summer. June and July were the hottest months ever recorded in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter ever. An early start of the fire season this year has strained Greece's firefighting force.
"Firefighters have been working at full tilt for months,” said Nikos Lavranos, head of Greece's main firefighters' union. "They are exhausted.”
Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Monday it was "an exceptionally dangerous fire, which we have been fighting for more than 20 hours under dramatic circumstances.” Some areas that were burning on a mountain northeast of Athens were particularly hard to reach, he added.
An elderly man is evacuated from his home by Greek police officers during a wildfire near Penteli, 12 August 2024. (Photo by Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP)
Three hospitals, including a children's hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated on Monday afternoon. Cellphones in the area got at least 30 push alerts warning people to flee.
"The wind would go in one direction and then in the other," said Spyros Gorilas, a resident of the area of Dioni who hosed down his house with water to save it from the flames. "The smoke was suffocating. You couldn’t see. Your eyes teared up. You couldn’t breathe."
"Even the helicopter that dropped water, you couldn’t see it," he added. "You could only hear it.”
Evacuation orders were issued for more Athens suburbs through Monday. Fire Department spokesperson Col. Vassileios Vathrakogiannis said there were scores of flareups in areas where the flames had somewhat abated earlier.
More than 700 firefighters, backed by 27 special wildfire teams, and armed forces personnel were battling the flames. More than 190 vehicles were deployed, with aerial support from 17 water-dropping planes and 16 helicopters.
