LAST UPDATE | 13 Aug
THE EU’S CIVIL protection unit is set to join firefighters in Greece who are battling devastating wildfires just north of Athens for a third straight day.
The fires have forced thousands of people to flee their homes and filled the skies over Athens with toxic smoke.
Fuelled by strong winds, Greece’s worst wildfire this year raced across a parched landscape as it wreaked widespread destruction around the Greek capital.
At least one person has died, a Moldovan woman whose body was found in a burnt out factory, and at least 66 people have been treated for injuries. Five firefighters have also been hurt.
European Commissioner for civil protection and humanitarian aid Janez Lenarčič said yesterday that the EU will send two planes from from Italy, one helicopter from France and hundreds of ground firefighting teams from Romania and Czechia to assist the country.
Yesterday, the Greek Government made a call for international assistance in fighting the fire. Resources and personnel have also come from Serbia and Turkey.
“We stand with Greece as it battles devastating fires,” EU Commission President ursula von der Leyen said yesterday.
This s**t is getting crazy. You can hardly see the sky over #Athens. How does that meme go again? - "This is fine. I'm okay with the events unfolding in #Greece. Everyone stay in the pool and enjoy the view. Ignore that giant #climate fire over just over the hill." #athensfire pic.twitter.com/wy8OpQIdxR
— Peter Dynes (@PGDynes) August 13, 2024
“We are at a better level across the front”, Costas Tsigkas, head of the association of Greek firefighter officers, told state television ERT this morning.
“But conditions again will not be easy. There will be winds from midday onwards” and “every hour that passes will be more difficult”, he said.
The National Observatory said temperatures of up to 38 degrees are expected in Athens today, with winds of up to 39 kilometres per hour.
On the 11th of August, a large wildfire burned out of control in Attica, Greece. The fire has affected at least 10,000 hectares and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
— Copernicus EU (@CopernicusEU) August 13, 2024
Read more:https://t.co/VYw2OCmm0H#Φωτιά pic.twitter.com/fJ0oyrQl57
The European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation agency released satellite images of the fire, showing smoke being pushed southwards by the wind in the direction of the capital city.
Some 700 firefighters, backed by 200 fire engines and nine aircraft, are battling the blaze that broke out Sunday afternoon in the town of Varnavas, around 35 kilometres northeast of Athens, the fire department said.
Fanned by strong winds, it grew to a 30-kilometre-long front line of flames more than 25 metres high in places, according to state TV ERT.
Greece’s National Observatory, itself threatened by the wildfire, said yesterday that at least 10,000 hectares had been devastated by the fire.
The mayor of the town of Halandri, Simos Roussos, told ERT state television that he had seen nearly a dozen homes destroyed by the fire there. Numerous businesses, used car and coal yards and paint warehouses were also affected, he said.
“The fire travelled 50 kilometres and changed direction 10 times,” Roussos said.
In nearby Penteli, a helicopter waterbombed huge balls of flame coming from a warehouse containing wood and what is believed to be propane tanks. Locals fled loud explosions, which sent items flying.
The labour ministry has banned outdoor working in areas hit by the fires because so many burned factories contained toxic chemicals.
With much of the capital covered by acrid smoke for two straight days, scientists reported an alarming rise in hazardous airborne particles, particularly from Sunday night to last night.
VIDEO: 🇬🇷 Wildfire threatens Athens as Greek govt appeals for help
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 13, 2024
A massive wildfire in the city's northeast suburbs has forced thousands to flee their homes and sparked a government appeal for international help. At least one person has been killed in the blaze#AFPVertical pic.twitter.com/h3fLqG2qbL
“Never in a million years did I think a fire would come here,” 65-year-old Sakis Morfis told the AFP news agency outside his gutted home in Vrilissia.
“We’re without clothes, money, everything was burned inside,” he said.
Yesterday, three hospitals, including a children’s hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated.
At least 30 push alerts were sent to mobile phones in the area north of the city centre warning people in several Athens suburbs and settlements to flee.
June and July were the hottest months ever recorded in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter ever.
An early start to 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.”
Greece’s conservative government has come under attack from the press over its handling of the fire.
“Enough is enough,” thundered the front page of Greece’s top-selling centrist daily Ta Nea. The liberal Kathimerini said the “out of control” inferno “had left huge destruction (and) unanswered questions”.
“Evacuate Maximou,” said the left-wing Efsyn daily, referring to the building housing the prime minister’s office.
Includes reporting by Muiris O’Cearbhaill, © AFP 2024 and Press Association
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