A major wildfire which raged out of control in the northern suburbs of Athens on Monday, August 12 has shown improvements with no current single fire front.
The news was delivered by fire department spokesperson Vasilis Vathrakogiannis in an update on the fires late on Monday.
Mr Vathrakogiannis said whilst there was no single fire front any more, there were “several active pockets of fire, especially in the greater area of Penteli mountain and Marathonas Lake.”
This news comes after a massive wildfire in Athens’ northeastern suburbs on Monday forced thousands of residents to flee their homes and sparked a Greek government appeal for international help.
Officials said France would provide a helicopter, Italy two water-dropping planes and the Czech Republic 75 firefighters and 25 vehicles. Serbia and Romania were also readying aid. Neighbouring Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the country would dispatch two firefighting planes and a helicopter, while Spain was also finalising reinforcements to send to Greece.
The fire began Sunday afternoon about 35 kilometers northeast of Athens, burning several homes and businesses and sending a blanket of smoke and ash over the city center. Power cuts hit parts of the Greek capital and affected traffic lights at major central junctions.
Three hospitals, including a children’s hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated on Monday afternoon. Cellphones in the area got at least 30 push alerts warning people to flee.
More than 700 firefighters, backed by 27 special wildfire teams, and armed forces personnel were battling the flames. More than 190 vehicles were deployed, with aerial support from 17 water-dropping planes and 16 helicopters.
Authorities said 15 people were injured, mostly due to smoke inhalation, as the blaze reached outlying sections of a suburb about 15 kilometers from the city center. Greece’s National Observatory said late Monday that satellite images show the blaze has affected about 10,000 hectares.
