A new large forest fire broke out Sunday not far from Athens, as Greece expects a particularly difficult summer. Several fires have already broken out this weekend and the risks appear high for the coming weeks.
This country experiences many fires every year, but it could be worse this year, after the mildest winter on record, and also the earliest heatwave, with temperatures rising to 44°C.
Sunday’s fire in the Keratea region, about 20 kilometres south of the Greek capital, started in the Plaka area, a scrubland area. It was approaching homes by early afternoon and strong winds threatened to spread the blaze, according to the Athens News Agency.
Residents urged to evacuate
Around sixty firefighters and 17 vehicles, as well as eight planes and two helicopters, were deployed to try to put an end to it.
Shortly after 12:30 p.m., authorities set up an alert system, calling on residents of the Markati, Plaka and Panorama areas to evacuate and head towards Lavrio.
Major damage in Serifos
On Saturday, a major fire in the same region was able to be controlled, as was, on Sunday morning, the one that broke out the day before on the island of Serifos, after causing significant damage.
“The entire southwest of Serifos burned. The flames stopped when they reached the sea,” Serifos Mayor Konstantinos Revintis told MEGA TV.
>> Also read: Extreme wildfires have doubled in the past 20 years worldwide
Very high risk
The forecast map published by the Ministry of Civil Protection for Sunday warned of a very high risk of fires for Attica (where Athens is located), the southern Peloponnese peninsula, the island of Crete, the north and the southern Aegean Sea and central Greece.
On Saturday, a fire on Mount Parnitha, not far from the capital, could only be put out after several hours, with the help of reinforcements from several other regions, as well as volunteer firefighters.
In total, over forty fires broke out in Greece on Saturday, with winds often exceeding 100 km/h, according to the fire service.
rad with ats
