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A conflagration swept through the northern suburb of Kryoneri, 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) north of Athens, on Saturday, causing emergency evacuations as fires approached homes.
Residents in the Kryoneri area of Greece were warned to evacuate to safe areas through three emergency SMS messages, reported Greece’s Fire Service. Fire Service official Vassilis Vathrakoyannis confirmed that various houses had caught fire, but the extent of damage is still unclear until the fires are put out.
“Real challenges are still to come,” Vathrakoyannis warned in a press conference. He said that Greece officially asked the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism for help, requesting six firefighting aircraft to support efforts on the ground.
There are currently 145 firefighters, 44 fire trucks, 10 water-dropping planes, and 7 helicopters fighting the Kryoneri fire. Four ambulances were also sent to treat at least five residents several of whom are elderly stricken with respiratory issues.
There has been intense heat, parched vegetation, and powerful winds that have increased the threat. Temperatures have reached well over 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), conditions under which wildfires tend to grow quickly.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the nation, firefighters are also fighting extensive fires on the islands of Evia, Crete, and Kythera. Altogether, no fewer than 52 wildfires have broken out in Greece over the last 24 hours.
A total of 335 firefighters, aided by 19 aircraft and 13 helicopters operating only during the day, are fighting these multiple fire fronts.
Wildfires are becoming a more and more common, damaging phenomenon in Greece, with a number of serious fires already reported during this summer. The authorities are asking the population to stay alert since hot, dry, and windy conditions are predicted to continue in the coming days.
