Greek firefighters battle major blazes on multiple fronts

ATHENS: Greek firefighters on Wednesday struggled to contain uncontrolled fires throughout the country for a fifth day, several of them bordering an acrid, smoke-filled Athens.

In the last two days, 19 people believed to be migrants -- including two children -- have been killed in forest blazes.

One fire fanned by strong winds ripped through the foothills of Mount Parnitha, the largest forest adjoining the capital, burning near the outskirts of a national park.

“The situation in Parnitha is extremely critical,” Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias told a news conference. Evacuations were ordered on Wednesday morning for several settlements in the area, including three nursing homes. The blaze damaged homes in the northwestern Athens district of Menidi, which is also close to a military camp.

“Many people don´t want to leave their homes,” Nikos Kountromichalis, a Hellenic Red Cross organiser, told state TV ERT in Menidi.

“We found some elderly people who had fainted in their own yards,” he said, adding that his team had treated several residents for burns and respiratory problems.

Fires have already destroyed homes and properties in the nearby suburbs of Hasia and Fyli.

A migrant detention centre in Amygdaleza, north of Athens, was also evacuated.

Greek firefighters have battled over 350 fires over the last five days, including over 200 in the last 48 hours, Kikilias said. “It´s an unprecedented situation, this is not a figure of speech,” he said.

Kikilias said the country was going through the worst summer of fires since fire-risk maps were introduced in 2009.

He noted that the number of fire emergency warnings issued this year were “twice as many as in 2021, four times those of 2019 and seven times those of 2012,” he said.

“In 32 years of service I´ve never seen such extreme conditions,” Greek fire department chief Yiorgos Pournaras told reporters, noting that even during the night winds remained high.

The Parnitha fire had spread even though water bombers were on-site in minutes, Pournaras said.