Thousands of people fled their homes on Monday, including in and around Athens’ historic city of Marathon, as strong winds fanned the flames of a wildfire near the Greek capital.
The 30 kilometre (20 mile) long front line of fire, which in some places is more than 25 metres (80 feet) high, was moving towards Athens, ERT public broadcaster reported.
About 700 firefighters and more than 30 aircraft attempted to extinguish the blaze which had spread to the city’s outer suburbs near Mount Pentelikon.
Authorities have opened the Olympic Stadium and other stadiums in northern Athens to take in fleeing people. Three major hospitals have been put on standby.
Fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said one firefighter suffered serious burns, another was hospitalized with breathing problems and 13 others were treated for mild respiratory problems.
Halandry has become the latest suburban municipality to order a partial evacuation of fire-threatened areas.
“We have decided to evacuate as a precaution because of the wind direction,” its mayor, Simos Roussos, told ERT. “The fire is very close.”
Television footage showed fires burning in homes in the leafy Athens suburb of Nea Penteli, where residents have also been asked to evacuate.
Many smaller communities and towns, including Marathon, which gave its name to the Olympic long-distance race, began evacuating on Sunday.
“We are facing a catastrophe like the one described in the Bible,” Marathon Mayor Stergios Tsirkas said. “Our whole city is engulfed in flames,” he told Sky television channel.
Smoke engulfed the centre of Athens, and thick grey clouds engulfed Mount Pentelikon, which towers over the capital and is known for the marble used in the Acropolis and other ancient buildings.
“Civil defence forces worked hard all night, but despite extraordinary efforts the fire continued to spread rapidly,” Vathrakogiannis said.
He said that due to strong winds on Monday, fire broke out again at 40 different places.
Vathrakogiannis said a children’s hospital and a military medical centre in Penteli were evacuated at dawn.
The destruction brought back memories of the Mati disaster in the coastal area near Marathon, where 104 people died in July 2018, a tragedy that was later blamed on evacuation delays and errors.
This year’s summer wildfire season in Greece has seen dozens of blazes burning daily, while the Mediterranean country recorded its warmest winter and hottest June and July since reliable data collection began in 1960.
Temperatures around Athens are forecast to reach 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, with wind speeds up to 50 kilometres (31 miles) per hour.
– ‘Engulfed in flames’ –
SMS messages sent to people in the Attica region said: “There is a forest fire near you. Follow the instructions of the authorities.” It also told people in which direction to flee.
Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias on Saturday issued a warning that half of the country was at great risk of fire due to high temperatures, strong winds and dry conditions.
On Monday he said the fire that broke out near the town of Varnavas on Sunday had spread even though water bombing aircraft had reached the area in just five minutes.
“We are all working 24-hour shifts,” said fireman Marinos Peristeropoulos.
“The fire spread very fast because of the strong wind,” he told AFP near a hotspot in Gramático.
Scientists say the duration, frequency and intensity of heat waves are worsening worldwide due to human-caused fossil fuel emissions.
According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, rising temperatures are causing wildfire seasons to become longer and the area burned by fires to increase.
Other parts of Europe are also grappling with high temperatures.
Temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius in many parts of France on Sunday. Temperatures in Rome are expected to reach 38 degrees Celsius on Monday and hover around 36 degrees Celsius this week.
The temperature in the Netherlands is expected to remain between 32 to 35 degrees Celsius.
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