Firefighters scramble to contain fires outside Athens before high winds return
Greek officials and residents of a region west of the capital Athens began to assess the damage suffered by homes, businesses and farmland on Wednesday scorched by a wildfire. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos...
Greek officials and residents of a region west of the capital Athens began to assess the damage suffered by homes, businesses and farmland on Wednesday scorched by a wildfire.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is due to chair a cabinet meeting later on Wednesday to determine compensation for those affected by the fire, his office said.
Meanwhile, teams from the Environment and Civil Protection ministries arrived to assess communities about 50 kilometres northwest of Athens, where residents have been returning after preventive evacuations, public broadcaster Ertnews reported.
The blaze blackened more than 14,000 hectares in just five days but "the situation in the region is much better," fire services spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyannis told the AFP news agency on Wednesday.
"Firefighters remain on maximum alert to deal with areas where there is still smoke," he added.
The smell of smoke was still present around the resort of Porto Germeno, a seaside resort where a large part of formerly forested land has been devoured by the flames and dozens of houses have burnt down, AFP reporters observed.
Fanned by wind gusts of up to 130 kilometres per hour, the fire quickly spread towards the southern slopes of Mount Kithairon and reached Megara, an industrial and agricultural town 40 kilometres from Athens.
Following devastating fires in Spain and France, Greek authorities have been fighting since the end of July against dozens of fires across the country that have killed five people, including three firefighters and the two members of the crew of a helicopter that was battling the flames.
Fires started through negligence prompt wave of arrests
According to an initial investigation by the fire service, the blaze started on Friday with a spark on power cables managed by a private company in Agios Vasileios, a seaside village at the foot of a mountain 85 kilometres northwest of Athens.
Restrictions and park closures are imposed locally according to fire‑risk levels. Authorities say 33 people were arrested between 29 June-2 August for starting fires, including 30 through negligence and three on suspicion of arson. Most of the negligence cases involved farm work carried out despite local bans, including welding.
On Tuesday, crews were working against the clock: Winds typically pick up in the afternoon, a coastal phenomenon common across the Mediterranean in summer as land heats faster than the sea and draws in stronger breezes.
The army deployed tracked earth movers to carve fire breaks across the scorched hillsides, while specialist units pushed into forest areas on foot to extinguish smouldering embers before they could reignite.
The evacuations from around the seaside resort of Porto Germeno and other areas west of the capital included more than 250 rescued by boats from beaches.
