Thousands flee homes as Greece battles wildfires

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) – Thousands of hectares of rich leafy forests have turned into ashes in Attica’s northeastern suburbs as fires has been burning for a fourth day on Friday in Greece, forcing residents to flee their homes in fear of their lives.

The fire that erupted in Varibobi, a suburb of Athens, on Tuesday reignited, spreading to the east towards Mt. Parnitha on Thursday evening.

According to reports, the fire raged through the surrounding areas easily on Tuesday as the firefighting aircraft could not fly due to high temperatures and some faced maintenance problems.

At least three CL-415s that had attempted to help douse blazes in the island of Rhodes and others were also damaged, while a CL-415 sent to respond to the fires in Sardinia was damaged and returned.

When the fire started in the Varibobi forest, temperature was ranging between 42-44 degrees Celsius (107-111 degrees Fahrenheit), making it impossible for the CL-215 aircrafts to operate, thus causing the fire to spread even further.

Video footages shared on social media showed residents shouting: “Send us an aircraft we are going to burn.”

Several cities around that area – Kryoneri, Kokkinovrachos and Afidnes – received evacuation orders, while Ippokratios Politia and Drossopigi were already evacuated.

There are 450 firefighters and 40 ground crews, as well as 150 fire engines currently operating in the Attica fire, along with three helicopters and seven aircraft dousing the flames.

According to the fire department, the Greek Cypriot administration sent 40 firefighters to help efforts to extinguish the fires. Another 112 firefighters and 23 firefighting vehicles are expected from Romania, 100 firefighters from Lithuania, 15 firefighters from Israel, two aircraft from Sweden, a Canadair aircraft from Croatia, and three helicopters from Switzerland.

The fire has now crossed the national road where more evacuations were ordered after midnight in the city of Agios Stefanos.

Several reports stated that the fires are threatening the facilities of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) at Agios Stefanos, which might cause widespread blackouts in the Greek capital.

The Malakasa village was also evacuated on Friday, while 2,000 migrants from the refugee camp in the area were transferred safely to the Ritsona camp, according to the fire department.

Despite a relative fall in temperatures on Friday, the wind-fanned blazes have spread further, putting more areas in danger.

The situation is extremely difficult, the fire department said, and it expected to get worse during the day as wind intensity picks up and starts to fan the flames.

The Afidnes fire is reported to be out of control as local media said that a factory producing paint is in flames while repeated explosions were preventing firefighters from approaching.

On the island of Evia, the coast guard carried out a massive operation to evacuate the inflamed area, with hundreds of vacationers fleeing their hotels and residencies as the fire gets closer.

Reports are that efforts to extinguish forest fires that flared up again in the Ilia and Lakonia regions of the Peloponnese and Fokida in central Greece continue by land and air.

Around 20 civilians and four firefighters from the Peloponnesse fire have been hospitalized with breathing problems and burns.

Authorities have shut down a section of the national highway between Corinth, Tripoli and Kalamata due to the uncontrolled fire in different parts of the region.

On Thursday night, another fire broke out in the Fokida region in Elea, damaging houses as it moves towards the populous seaside front.

Several villages have been evacuated since the early hours.

“It’s a desperate situation. The fire goes where it wants, when it wants, and nobody can stop it,” Dorida Mayor Giorgos Kapentzonis told state-run Athens Macedonian News Agency on Friday, calling on the government to send help.

Meanwhile, teams of animal welfare volunteers are in the burning areas to save domestic, stray and wildlife animals as the fires have destroyed one of Attica’s biggest forests and burned hundreds of homes.