Athens Suburbs Evacuated as Forest Fire Rages Out of Control
Athens: Two large forest fires broke out on Sunday afternoon near Athens in Greece.
The first fire broke out in the area of Barnabas (Varnavas), burning farmland and woodland areas. Since the initial position of the fire was close to urban settlements, the entire area has been placed under an evacuation order.
More specifically, Greece’s European Emergency 112 number sent an alert to all residents and visitors of Barnabas urging them to evacuate their properties and head towards Grammatiko or Kapandriti.
Additionally, later on Sunday, the residents of Stamata, Grammatiko, Amygdaleza, Rodopolis and Mikrochori were also urged to evacuate as the fire was raging out of control.
Greek media report that many houses have been burnt, however, there is no official statement from the Greek authorities yet.
These areas are on the east side of Attica, the regional unit of the broader metropolitan Athens area. East Attica has been severely hit by wildfires in the past years.
According to Greece’s Fire Brigade, a total of 165 firefighters are battling the Barnabas forest fire. The Fire Brigade has mobilized a total of thirty vehicles, seven aircraft, and nine helicopters.
Unfortunately, the forest fire in Barnabas is not the only one that broke out today in the broader Attica region.
A second large blaze is ravaging the area of Megara on the western side of the Greek county.
The fire broke out in Neo Mazi. An emergency evacuation order was sent through the 112 European Emergency Number, urging residents of Neo Mazi to head towards Aegeirouses.
Greece’s Fire Bridage noted in a statement that a total of 48 firefighters are battling the Megara blaze.
Thirteen vehicles, two aircraft, and two helicopters are assisting in their efforts to control the blaze before it spreads to other regions uncontrollably. Greece has been on high alert for forest fires since yesterday.
This was announced on Saturday after an emergency meeting was held by Greek Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias and all other relevant agencies and authorities.
The country will remain on high alert for most of the upcoming week or at least until Thursday, August 15th, the Dormition of the Theotokos bank holiday.
The reason for this is extreme weather conditions, the result of a blend of dry ground, strong winds, and extremely high temperatures.
The latest forecast from Greece’s Meteo Service of the National Observatory of Athens suggested that particularly strong winds of up to 56 miles per hour (90km/h) will prevail on Sunday across the Central and Southern Aegean, Crete, and the eastern parts of the Greek mainland.
These conditions, along with rising temperatures, have the potential to turn small fires into ravaging wildfires in a matter of minutes.
The forecast suggests that Athens, for example, will experience a sharp increase in its temperatures in the coming days.
From 33 degrees Celsius on Sunday (91 degrees Fahrenheit), temperatures for the Greek capital are expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.
Similar temperature trends are expected in many parts of the country, which have already suffered from extensive periods of extreme heat and low rainfall.
