Huge blaze closes town near Athens as Greece prepares for wildfire season

More wildfires are expected this summer

A plane drops water as firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire near the town of Koropi, Greece (REUTERS)

Firefighters and aircraft in Greece battled a blaze in the town just 30 kilometres south of Athens on Wednesday.

Strong winds fanned the flames and forced residents in Koropi to flee their homes and businesses.

Traffic was suspended along a main highway connecting Koropi to Athens suburbs. One storage facility was on fire and flames crept into a boat dry dock and across fields of dry grass and olive trees, images on local TV showed.

The fire is one of many so far this season, with more expected throughout the summer.

There were no reports of deaths or injuries, a fire service official told Reuters. Civil protection and authorities evacuated two nearby villages.

“Its a very difficult day today. We have a new fire breaking out every 10 minutes,” Fire Service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said in a televised message.

A fire risk prediction map posted on social media by the Greek fire service:

Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean nation but they have become more devastating as summers have become hotter and drier, which scientists relate to climate change.

On Tuesday more than 40 fires broke out across the country, the fire service said.

A man walks in an area burned during a wildfire, in Kitsi, near the town of Koropi, Greece, June 19, 2024 (REUTERS)

It was not immediately clear what caused Wednesday’s blaze. Four firefighting planes, six helicopters, dozens of fire engines and more than 50 firefighters were dispatched to the scene, the fire service official said.

Much of the Athens area has had no rain for weeks, leaving large areas bone dry. Volunteers and professional firefighters dragged hoses over blackened fields in 35 degree Celsius (95°F) heat. Smoke filled the sky and was driven sideways by strong wind gusts.

“I saved my home at the last moment. It all happened so fast,” a resident whose face was blackened by smoke told local Skai TV channel.

After forest fires last year forced 19,000 people to flee the island of Rhodes and killed 20 in the northern mainland, Greece has scaled up its preparations this year by hiring more staff and increasing training.

Last year’s wildfire season in Europe was among the worst this century, the European Commission said. Fires burnt through more than half a million hectares, led to mass evacuations and killed at least 20 people in Greece.

Spending by EU countries on fire protection - both suppression and prevention - has remained more or less stable since 2001 at 0.5% of total government spending, but research from WWF Greece showed that more than 80% of Greece’s fire protection budget went towards suppression in 2022.

Several tourists are still missing across Greece. On Wednesday it was revealed the girlfriend of a missing American tourist criticised Greek authorities for allegedly doing little to help search for him, saying she is “totally disgusted” by their efforts.

Albert Calibet, 59, has been missing since last Tuesday while hiking on the island of Amorgos and is yet to be discovered.

Another missing hiker also sent a distress message to her hotel in Greece before she vanished in soaring temperatures, it has emerged.

The search for two missing French tourists, aged 73 and 64, on the island of Sikinos has intensified since the pair went missing on Friday.