Greece ordered the evacuation of hospitals and homes near Athens on Monday as a wildfire continued to spread despite “extraordinary” efforts to contain the blaze, the fire department said.
Civil protection officials asked at least five more communities to flee after hundreds of people were evacuated from at least eight villages on Sunday.
“Civil defence forces worked hard all night, but despite extraordinary efforts the fire grew rapidly,” fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said.
“At the moment it has reached Mount Pentelicus and is moving towards Penteli,” he said.
According to Vathrakogiannis, two hospitals in Penteli — one for children and a military facility — were evacuated at dawn.
He said the brigade has deployed 510 firefighters and 152 vehicles, while 29 aircraft will leave in the morning.
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.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cut short his holiday and returned to Athens on Sunday evening to tackle the crisis.
By Sunday afternoon, firefighters had quickly brought 33 of the 40 fires that broke out in the previous 24 hours under control.
But a fire brigade spokesman said on Sunday that the force was battling seven others in the searing Mediterranean heat.
Residents of the historic city of Marathon, 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Athens, were also ordered to evacuate on Sunday.
“Everything is burning,” said Giorgos Tsevas, a resident of the village of Polydendri.
“I had 200 olive trees there, but now they are gone,” the 48-year-old said on Sunday.
Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias warned on Saturday that half the country was under a high fire risk warning due to high temperatures, strong winds and dry conditions.
“The winds remained strong overnight, creating dangerous conditions. Unfortunately they are expected to increase in intensity in the coming hours,” Vathrakogiannis warned.
The Mediterranean country is particularly vulnerable to fires in summer, with fires burning nearly every day during this season.
Following its warmest winter ever, Greece also experienced its warmest June and July since reliable data collection began in 1960.
Scientists have warned that the duration, frequency and intensity of heat waves around the world are worsening 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.
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