Hundreds of firefighters struggled to contain a large wildfire that threatened hillside suburbs outside Athens on Tuesday (Greek time), after hundreds of residents were evacuated overnight.
Raging wildfires continued to burn throughout the night and into the early morning hours on 21 July in the northeast suburbs of Athens, with firefighters and civil protection services engaged in a desperate battle to control flames that were fanned by gale-force winds with high speed, intensity and constantly changing direction.
The Hellenic Police have carried out 600 evacuations of citizens to safe locations, according to AP. Three planes and five helicopters joined the battle, alongside 485 firefighters, 120 fire engines and 28 ground teams operating below, assisted by volunteer fire fighters, local authority water tanker trucks and heavy machinery.
At least two people were hospitalised with breathing problems and minor burns, while local officials said several houses had been burned in the fire around Mount Penteli, 25 kilometers (16 miles) northeast of the Greek capital.
“The conditions are very challenging. The priority was to safeguard human life, critical infrastructure and private property,” Fire Service spokesman Yiannis Artopios said.
He said winds of up to 80 kilometers per hour (50 mph) were making air support difficult for fire crews, Kathimerini reported.
Greece has avoided the heat wave that is currently afflicting countries in Western Europe, but fire officials say that hot and dry conditions that have lasted for weeks, as well as longer-term temperature rises, have increased the overall risk of forest fires.
Five water-dropping aircraft and four helicopters were operating Wednesday at the fire north of Athens, officials said.
More than 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of land was damaged by wildfires in Greece last year, the worst damage recorded since 2007.
As the day dawned on Thursday (Greek time), the Fire Service said there were no active fronts in the main three wildfires that broke out on Mount Penteli, north of Athens, Megara in west Attica and the island of Salamina, but water bombers have been deployed to prevent any flare-ups.
Meanwhile, a video recorded by a local resident and shown on a Greek TV station Alpha on Thursday appeared to show a man setting a fire, while a major fire northeast of Athens was still in progress.
In the video, the man dressed in black is shown rapidly crossing a two-lane road. On that side of a road is an open space with olive and pine trees and covered with dried grass.
The man gets beside an olive tree, somewhat apart from other trees, but with grass on all sides. The man bends down, then crosses back fast to the side of the road where he came from; a few seconds later, flames shoot up.
“He stopped his car, got out and opened his trunk. He drew my attention. We were awake; the fire was burning above us…I lose him for a second. Then, I see heam leaving and, a few seconds later, flames shoot up,” a witness told Alpha.
“I saw what he was doing and for a moment wanted to confront him,” another witness said. “But, seeing the flames, I immediately grabbed the extinguisher and ran. The wind was so strong, it was a matter of seconds before the fire spread, as it was doing two kilometers away from us,” he added.
Police are examining the video for clues.
Authorities continued to be on high alert in several areas on Thursday as winds were expected to pick up again. Five aircraft operated in Megara, and two in Penteli.
Later in the day, reinforcements were directed to an area in the western Peloponnese to prevent a wildfire blaze in low vegetation from reaching a village.
The blaze broke out close to the village of Agnanda, in the municipality of Ilida with one firefighter injured injured in the operation.
A contingent of 115 firefighters, with four ground units and 36 tenders, attended the scene as did six firefighting planes and two water-bombing helicopters.
Volunteer firefighters, municipality workers and earth-moving contractors are also assisting in the firefighting effort while all the fire services in the region have been placed on general alert.
A total of 44 forest fires broke out in the 24-hour period to 6 p.m., the Fire Service said on Friday morning (Greek time).
Engineers from the Infrastructure Ministry will continue inspections in residences, businesses and public buildings affected by the wildfires in Penteli, Pallini, Gerakas and Anthousa.
Government announces 12 relief measures for fire-afflicted residents in Attica and other regions
The announcement came by Christos Triantopoulos, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, AMNA reported..
The support measures concern wildfires that occurred in the month of July, one of which was the wildfire in the Attica area of Penteli.
“We cannot rule anything out at the moment, but we’ll have more information when the Fire Brigade’s investigation is completed. Certainly for Penteli, the case of arson is not ruled out,” The Prime Minister said after a meeting with Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides.
“I believe that all authorities did their best with a very quick and timely presence, with great mobilization of the state apparatus, and above all with a much better coordination compared to what we had seen in the past.”
These measures are:
– Six-month suspension of tax obligations
– Compensation for home damages and one household appliance
– Housing assistance to individuals and legal entities for the restoration of buildings and their facilities within demarcated areas
– Cash first aid for housing expenses, applicable online
– Subsidies for fire-damaged businesses
– Three-year exemption from property tax (ENFIA)
– Six-month suspension of enforceable decisions/rulings concerning one’s damage property
– Rent subsidy
– Accommodation of fire-stricken people in Attica hotels
– Subsidies for farmers
– Emergency subsidies to local authorities
