Greece: two large forest fires in the Athens region, difficult summer ahead

Firefighters were battling a series of wildfires near Athens on Sunday evening, with authorities fearing the worst for this summer in Greece.

A tourist hotspot, this country is prey to fires every year, but the situation is expected to be even more tense this year after the mildest winter on record and the earliest heatwave, with temperatures reaching 44°C.

Two large forest fires raged on Sunday evening in Attica, the region where the Greek capital is located, and residents of at least eight areas near that city were asked to evacuate their homes.

The ERT television channel reported that a 45-year-old man died of cardiac arrest while trying to flee the flames in Stamata, north of Athens, where winds exceeding 70 km/h were recorded.

Sunday will have been the most difficult day firefighters have faced in fighting the blazes this yearinsisted the fire brigade spokesman, Vasilis Vathrakogiannis, to the press.

In Keratéa, south of the capital, the fire which broke out around 13 ha reached cars and houses, of which, according to ERT News, at least four were completely destroyed.

The situation is very difficult, as strong winds continue to blow [à une vitesse supérieure à 60 km/h] and the homes are numerous.

However, he assured that the neighboring air base was not threatened for the moment.

The day before, a fire had already occurred in the same area before being brought under control.

The industrial zone of Ritsona, on the island of Euboea, which extends for nearly 160 km in the Aegean Sea, was also engulfed in flames on Sunday.

Black smoke rose above a recycling plant, where tires, mattresses and other materials were piled up.

Firefighters were trying to prevent the fire from spreading to other factories.

Separately, a massive forest fire that started Saturday afternoon on the island of Serifos was extinguished by firefighters early Sunday.

The entire southwest of Serifos burned. The flames stopped when they reached the seasaid the mayor of Serifos, Konstantinos Revintis, to the Mega TV channel.

Damage was caused to houses, warehouses and chapels, he lamented.

The forecast map released by the Ministry of Civil Protection for Sunday warned of a very high risk of fires for Attica, the southern Peloponnese peninsula, the island of Crete, the north and south of the sea Aegean and central Greece.

On Saturday, a forest fire on Mount Parnitha, not far from Athens, was finally brought under control after several hours with the help of reinforcements from other regions and volunteer firefighters.

In total, more than forty fires broke out in Greece that day, with winds often exceeding 100 km/h, according to the fire service.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in his weekly Facebook message on Sunday, urged his countrymen to prepare for a situation that could deteriorate further.

Difficult times are ahead of us. Our effort is continuous, with the help of new tools that help build a new culture of prevention and responsibilityhe wrote.

Thus, he stressed, the fire in Parnitha was extremely harsh, but fortunately it was detected immediately thanks to the surveillance drone system that was implemented this year for the forests and mountainous areas of Attica.