By V.E.K.Madhushani, Jadetimes News
Authorities Urge Residents to Flee as Blazes Spread Amidst Unrelenting Heat
A new evacuation alert was issued on Tuesday for the Greek seaside town of Nea Makri as intense wildfires continue to ravage the suburbs of Athens.
One person has been confirmed dead, with a body, believed to be that of a woman, found inside a shop in the town of Vrilissia, northern Athens, according to a fire service source.
Thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate as firefighters warned that homes, businesses, and schools remain under imminent threat. While the massive smoke cloud that hovered over Athens began to clear with the arrival of dawn on Tuesday, the air in the city remains hazy.
Helicopters have resumed operations after being grounded overnight for safety reasons. Despite being in areas not directly impacted by the flames, residents in parts of Athens reported finding ash settling on their balconies.
Exhausted firefighters have shifted focus from one major fire front to several hotspots. Fire service spokesman Col Vassilios Vathrakogiannis confirmed that while there is no longer a single active fire front in the north eastern Attica region, which includes parts of Athens, numerous "active localized blazes" persist, particularly around the towns of Marathon and Penteli.
Col Vathrakogiannis emphasized that the conditions for new fires remain dangerous, not only on Tuesday but also in the days ahead. More than 700 firefighters, 199 fire engines, and 35 waterbombing aircraft have been engaged in battling the fires, which first ignited on Sunday afternoon about 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the Greek capital.
Two firefighters have been treated for burns sustained while combating the blazes. Officials reported that fires erupted in 40 different locations on Monday, with flames reaching heights of up to 25 meters (82 feet) in some areas.
In unprecedented scenes, residents of Athens donned facemasks to protect themselves from the thick smoke that engulfed the city. Satellite images released by Greece's National Observatory on Monday afternoon indicated that approximately 100,000 acres (405 square kilometers; 156 square miles) of land had already been affected by the fire.
In the hilly, wooded region of Penteli, three hospitals were evacuated, and at one point, one of the National Observatory's sites was feared to be under threat. The fire also consumed a timber factory, and several explosions were reported in the area, likely caused by fuel tanks and residential gas cylinders.
Despite the danger, some Penteli residents refused to evacuate and attempted to extinguish pockets of fire with hoses or tree branches. "It hurts. We have grown up in the forest. We feel great sadness and anger," 24 year old resident Marina Kalogerakou told Reuters as she doused a burning tree stump with water.
Another resident, Pantelis Kyriazis, crashed his car while trying to flee. "I couldn't see. I hit a pine tree and this is what happened," he said, gesturing toward the damaged vehicle.
Further north, near the fire's epicenter, 81 year old Vassilis Stroubelis stood in the doorway of his damaged home. "Thirty years I was building all this. Thirty years and bam," he lamented.
European nations have pledged assistance to Greece after its government activated the EU's mutual civil protection mechanism. Italy is sending two planes, while France and Serbia are each providing a helicopter. Spain, the Czech Republic, and Romania are dispatching additional vehicles, personnel, and aid. Neighboring Turkey is also preparing to send two planes and a helicopter, according to Foreign Minister Öncü Keçeli.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed solidarity with Greece on X, formerly Twitter, stating that the EU would "stand with Greece as it battles devastating fires."
Greece recently endured its hottest June and July on record, a situation exacerbated by climate change, which increases the likelihood of the hot, dry conditions that fuel wildfires. The planet has already warmed by about 1.1°C since the industrial era began, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments worldwide implement significant emissions reductions.
