More than 10,000 hectares have been affected by the fire that is approaching the urban area north of Athens. Around 700 firefighters are working on the scene.
Around 700 firefighters Greeks fight a Massive fire near AthensOn the third day of the operation, Hundreds of reinforcements are expected to arrive from other European countries to contain the flames that began on Sunday in the municipality of Varnavas, about 35 kilometers northeast of the Greek capital.
The outlook is not optimistic compared to the forecast of the National Observatory, a historic research institute in Athens, which announced temperatures of up to 38° in the Greek capital on Tuesday and winds of up to 39 kilometres per hour.
The fire department It has 200 trucks and nine aircrafts that are deployed on site to combat The worst fire ever declared in Greece this year, which burned homes, businesses and cars on the outskirts of the Greek capital and forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
Fueled by hurricane-force winds, the wildfire had formed a 30-kilometre front, with flames reaching more than 25 metres in height in some places. Greece’s minister for climate crisis and civil protection said firefighters were They were fighting in “dramatic conditions” Faced with a serious drought affecting the territory,
Despite the “superhuman” deployment of hundreds of firefighters, the flames rose on Monday towards the southeast along Mount Pentelicus which dominates the city and advanced through the suburbs of the capital where tens of thousands of people live.
In this alarming context, the authorities issued dozens of evacuation orders. In total, More than 50,000 people left the city and more than 10,000 hectares were destroyed by the fire.
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced that Four EU countries will send firefighters and equipment to Greece to help extinguish the forest fire. The country is waiting for help from Italy, France, Czech Republic and Romania to be able to combat the fire that continues to be a threat due to the action of the winds.
Source: Ambito
