Tourists in Athens return to the streets after night of deadly wildfires just miles away

Satellite images show the blaze has affected about 25,000 acres

Deadly wildfires that raged just miles from the centre of Athens appeared to have slowed down on Tuesday morning, but with a warning that they could pick back up at any time.

The fire left at least one person dead and triggered evacuations as strong swirling winds hampered the efforts of firefighters and water-dropping planes.

The fire department said shortly after midnight that firefighters found a body in a burnt building in the suburb of Vrilissia, local media report the body is that of a woman. Some residents were reported to have refused to leave their homes as flames grew.

A blanket of smoke and ash shrouded central Athens on Monday while power cuts hit parts of the Greek capital. On Tuesday morning the scene was very different as tourists poured out into the busy attractions with clear blue skies overhead, many unaware of the battle that raged just miles away the night before.

At its closest, the fires reached around 8 miles from the heart of the capital on Monday night. Videos on social media show residents helping to tackle the blaze.

A volunteer stands in front of a small pocket of fire as wildfires burn near Penteli (AFP via Getty Images)

The wildfire raced through pine forests left tinder-dry by repeated heat waves this summer. Those at the scene reported winds blowing burning pine cones from trees and spreading the fire.

The whole country went on high alert but late on Monday night a drop in winds offered hope and officials reported progress against the massive, fast-moving blaze that spawned flames over 25 meters (80 feet) high. Meteorologists have warned of the increased danger of wildfires because of weather conditions from Sunday until Thursday. Dozens of other wildfires also broke out in several parts of Greece on Monday.

The National Observatory said that satellite images show the blaze has affected about 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres).

The fire mage from space on Monday (Copernicus/EU Space Programme)

The blaze started Sunday near Lake Marathon, about 22 miles northeast of Athens, coursed across Mount Pendeli and reached the capital’s northern suburbs. It burnt several homes and businesses in the city suburbs and in communities near the lake.

Greek firefighters were boosted by forces from other countries on Tuesday morning, after Athens sought international assistance, activating Europe’s mutual civil protection mechanism.

Many areas had to rely on local volunteers to tackle fires with anger growing over a lack of firefighters in the city and why help wasn’t asked for earlier.

June and July were the hottest months ever recorded in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter ever. An early start of the fire season this year has strained Greece‘s firefighting force.

"Firefighters have been working at full tilt for months," said Nikos Lavranos, head of Greece‘s main firefighters’ union. "They are exhausted."

A person riding a scooter watches as a wildfire engulfs a firewood business, in Penteli (EPA)

The police said 380 police officers assisted in evacuations, and helped move more than 250 people away from the path of the flames.

Elsewhere in Europe wildfires struck neighboring North Macedonia and Albania, with evacuations in both countries.

Greek Fire Department spokesperson Col. Vassileios Vathrakogiannis said firefighters were longer battling a single front but "many active localized blazes," mostly around Marathon and Pendeli.

The Marathon area was the site of a famous battle between Greeks and Persians in 490 B.C. and hosts a museum and archaeological site, but there were no immediate reports of damage from the blaze to either.

Three hospitals, including a children’s hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated on Monday afternoon. Mobile phones in the area got at least 30 push alerts warning people to flee.

"The wind would go in one direction and then in the other," said Spyros Gorilas, a resident of the area of Dioni who hosed down his house with water to save it from the flames. "The smoke was suffocating. You couldn’t see. Your eyes teared up. You couldn’t breathe."

"Even the helicopter that dropped water, you couldn’t see it," he added. "You could only hear it."

Two men try to extinguish the flames at a burning business during a fire in northern Athens, Monday (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Three Athens hospitals were on heightened alert, while paramedics and ambulances treated five firefighters for light burns and breathing problems, and at least 13 civilians.

Greece‘s coast guard diverted all ferries from a nearby port serving several Aegean Sea islands, to another harbor.

Wildfires are frequent in the Mediterranean country during its hot, dry summers, but authorities have said climate change is fueling bigger and more frequent blazes.