Greek wildfire forces thousands to evacuate, tourists issue warning

Tourists heading to Greece have been warned of extreme weather and wildfires as thousandsDozens of people were evacuated from areas near Athens.

A wildfire outside Athens spread rapidly on Sunday, fueled by hot and windy weather, burning trees, homes and cars and sending smoke billowing over the Greek capital, forcing residents to flee their homes.

A children’s hospital was also evacuated and emergency alerts continued Monday morning.

By 3 p.m., more than 400 firefighters, backed by 16 water-bombing aircraft and 13 helicopters, were battling the blaze and quickly reached the village of Varnavas, 35 kilometers (20 miles) north of Athens.

Follow live updates from Athens on our blog.

As the Paris Olympics came to a close, the historic town of Marathon, 40 kilometers east of Athens, was forced to evacuate.

The mayor of Marathon said the town, named after the Olympic Games’ centerpiece marathon, was facing a “biblical disaster.”

“Our whole town is engulfed in flames and we are going through difficult times,” Stergios Tsilkas told Greece’s Skai TV channel.

The town’s 7,000 residents were being moved to safety as the fire spread to Athens, more than 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast.

Firefighting aircraft were suspended Sunday evening until Monday, and emergency alerts continued throughout the night.

The evacuation of residents began on Monday morning in the Kallitechnoupoli area, near the port town of Rafina, where a wildfire in 2018 killed 104 people.

Flames painted the sky orange and thick smoke blanketed Athens, with many people posting photos to social media. Residents and tourists in many areas were told to keep their windows shut as a heatwave continued to hit the city, with temperatures expected to reach 37 degrees Celsius.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis returned to Athens on Sunday, cutting short his vacation.

“The fire is spreading between homes and the situation remains dangerous,” said Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, a spokesman for the fire brigade.

He said the fire spread “like lightning” because of strong winds, with flames up to 25 metres high engulfing trees and bushes.

Firefighters from neighbouring countries have been dispatched to help.

Varnavas is a sparsely populated area with about 1,800 inhabitants, according to the latest census.

“The village was surrounded very quickly, the winds were really strong,” resident Katerina Filaktu told Reuters. “The storm started in one place and suddenly the whole village was surrounded,” she said.

Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said in a statement on Monday morning that residents of northeastern Attica are facing an extremely dangerous wildfire and that we have been battling it for more than 20 hours in adverse conditions. He added: “These challenges are due to very difficult and rugged terrain caused by strong winds, a long drought, and dense, unburned forest.”

In a statement posted online, Kikilias said: “I want to be clear: the response to the initial outbreak of the fire in Varnavas, both on the ground and in the air, was immediate. The first air unit was already on patrol in the air and was in action just five minutes after the fire broke out. The first ground units arrived within seven minutes. The units were constantly reinforced, and the number of air units eventually reached 29, with more than 500 firefighters.

“Unfortunately, the risk assessment committee’s forecast of a red alert for Attica and other parts of Greece has been confirmed. We will do everything we can until the fire is under control and all hot spots are extinguished.”

Greece fire warning map released on Monday:

Meanwhile, some Greek tourist islands have suffered water supply problems this summer due to a severe lack of rainfall and a sharp increase in the number of summer tourists.

This summer, Greece faces serious water shortages due to extreme high temperatures and drought.

Hundreds of wildfires have broken out across Greece since May, with scientists attributing their frequency and intensity to increasingly hot and dry weather conditions caused by climate change.

After experiencing its hottest winter on record and a long period of little or no rainfall, Greece also experienced its hottest June and July and is expected to experience its hottest summer on record.

“We expect this week to be very difficult,” said Kostas Lagouvardos, director of research at the Athens Observatory. “If the fire on Mount Varnavas is not controlled during the night, we will be in trouble tomorrow,” he said.

Fires have also been ravaged by extreme heat in other parts of Europe this summer, including Spain and the Balkans.

Several other regions in Greece were also on high fire alert on Sunday and Monday.

On Saturday, Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said he had called on the army, police and volunteers to take urgent measures to tackle forest fires until August 15.

“Extreme heat and dangerous weather conditions will continue,” he said.

“Half of Greece’s regions will be in deficit.”

In April this year, a report from the European Commission said that the 2023 European wildfire season would be one of the worst this century.