Greek emergency services battled a massive forest fire threatening Athens for the third day in a row on Tuesday after the first victim was found and thousands of people were forced to flee their homes by the flames.
The body of a Moldovan woman was found in a burnt-out factory. At least 66 people have been treated for injuries since the fire broke out on Sunday, authorities said. Five firefighters were injured.
Fueled by strong winds, the wildfire ripped through the parched landscape northeast of the capital, destroying dozens of homes, cars and businesses across the 10,000-hectare area it ravaged.
The Greek government asked other European countries for help. France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia and Turkey sent hundreds of firefighters as well as helicopters, fire engines and water tankers, authorities said.
The fire severely hit the suburbs of Nea Penteli, Palaia Penteli, Patima Halandriou and Vrilissia.
The body of a Moldovan woman in her 60s was found in a factory in the suburb of Halandri. A bouquet of white flowers was laid in remembrance amid the chaos of burnt steel and burned chairs and tables.
Halandri Mayor Simos Roussos told state television ERT that he had seen nearly a dozen houses destroyed by fire in his town. Numerous shops, used car and coal warehouses and paint warehouses were also affected, he said.
“The fire spread 50 kilometers and changed direction ten times,” Roussos said.
In nearby Penteli, a helicopter dropped huge fireballs from a warehouse containing wood and what were believed to be propane tanks. Residents fled as loud explosions sent objects flying.
The Ministry of Labour banned outdoor work in the fire areas because so many of the burned factories contained toxic chemicals.
Large parts of the capital were shrouded in acrid smoke for two days, and scientists reported a worrying increase in the number of dangerous particles in the air, especially during the night from Sunday to Monday.
“Never in my life did I think there would be a fire here,” 65-year-old Sakis Morfis told AFP in front of his destroyed house in Vrilissia.
“We have no clothes and no money, everything inside is burned,” he said.
Hundreds of firefighters, supported by around 200 fire engines and twelve firefighting aircraft, fought the fire that broke out in Varnavas, about 35 kilometers from Athens.
Costas Tsigkas, chairman of the Greek Firefighters Association, told ERT that the fire service had made progress during the night.
“We are at a better level along the front,” said Tsigkas. “But the conditions will not be easy again. From midday it will be windy” and “every hour that passes will be more difficult.”
Greece’s National Observatory, itself threatened by the wildfires, said temperatures of up to 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) and wind speeds of up to 39 kilometers (24 miles per hour) were expected on Tuesday.
– ‘Unanswered Questions’ –
Greece’s conservative government was attacked by the press over the fire.
“Enough is enough,” thundered the front page of the most widely read centrist Greek daily Ta Nea. The liberal Kathimerini said the “out of control” inferno had “left behind great destruction and unanswered questions.”
“Evacuate Maximou,” wrote the left-wing daily Efsyn, referring to the building that houses the Prime Minister’s office.
The fire climbed Mount Pentelikon, also known as Mount Pentelicus, which overlooks the capital, and engulfed suburbs where tens of thousands of people live.
Dozens of evacuation orders were issued and many thousands fled.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis returned from vacation on Sunday because of the crisis. However, he has not yet commented on the disaster.
The destruction brought back memories of the July 2018 fires in Mati, a coastal area near Marathon, a tragedy that left 104 people dead and was blamed on delays and errors in the evacuation.
Dozens of fires broke out every day in Greece during this year’s summer wildfire season, after the Mediterranean country recorded its warmest winter and hottest June and July since reliable data began in 1960.
Scientists say human-caused fossil fuel emissions are worsening the length, frequency and intensity of heat waves around the world.
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