Greece wildfires force thousands to evacuate as warning issued to tourists

Flames turned the sky orange around Athens as the sky was engulfed with smoke

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

Residents fled their homes on Sunday as a fast-moving wildfire outside Athens fuelled by hot, windy weather burned trees, houses and cars and sent smoke clouds over the Greek capital.

A children’s hospital was also evacuated and emergency alerts continued to be sent out on Monday morning.

More than 400 firefighters backed by 16 waterbombing planes and 13 helicopters battled the blaze that broke out at 3pm and quickly reached the village of Varnavas 35 km (20 miles) north of Athens.

Follow live updates from Athens in our blog.

Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire burning in Dionysos, Greece, August 12, 2024 (REUTERS)

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

Marathon’s mayor said the town, which gave its name to the long-distance race that is the centerpiece of the Olympics, was facing a “a biblical catastrophe.”

“Our whole town is engulfed in flames and going through difficult times,” Stergios Tsirkas told Greece’s Skai television channel.

The town’s seven thousand people are being moved to safety as the fire advances on Athens, just over 40 km (25 miles) southeast.

On Sunday night firefighting aircraft ceased operations until Monday. Emergency alerts continued to be sent throughout the night.

A house burns in Varnava village during a wildfire, north of Athens, Greece, Sunday (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The area of Kallitechnoupoli was being evacuated on Monday morning, an area close to the port town of Rafina where 104 people died from a wildfire in 2018.

Flames turned the sky orange and Athens was engulfed with smoke with many posting images to social media. Residents and tourists have been told to shut their windows in many areas as a heatwave continues to bake the city with temperatures of 37C forecast.

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis returned to Athens on Sunday, cutting his holiday short.

“The situation remains dangerous as the fire is spreading between residences,” fire brigade spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said.

He said the blaze spread fast, “like lightning”, due to gale force winds. Flames as high as 25 metres swallowed up trees and shrubland.

Firefighters from neighbouring countries have been sent to help.

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

“The village was surrounded in no time, in no time. It’s really windy,” resident Katerina Fylaktou told Reuters. “It started from one point and suddenly the whole village was surrounded,” she said.

A Statement by the Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, on Monday morning said the residents of northeastern Attica were facing an extremely dangerous wildfire that we have been battling for over 20 hours under dramatic conditions. adding: “These challenges are due to the strong winds, prolonged drought, and the very difficult and rugged terrain of dense, unburnt forest.”

In a statement released online Kikilias said: “I want to be clear: The response to the initial outbreak in Varnavas, both on the ground and in the air, was immediate. The first aerial unit, was already in the air on a loaded patrol, and started operating just five minutes after the fire erupted. The first ground forces arrived within seven minutes. The forces were steadily reinforced, with the number of aerial units eventually reaching 29 and the firefighters exceeding 500.

“Unfortunately, the prediction from the Risk Assessment Committee, which placed Attica and other regions of Greece on red alert, has been confirmed. We will continue with all our strength until the fire is under control and every last hotspot is extinguished.”

A fire warning map of Greece as issued on Monday:

A fire warning map of Greece (www.civilprotection.gov.gr/)

Meanwhile, some tourist islands across Greece have been hit by water supply issues this summer after a severe lack of rainfall and a huge increase in visitors over the summer months.

Greece is facing a severe water shortage problem this summer due to the extreme heat and drought.

Hundreds of wildfires have broken out across Greece since May and scientists attribute their frequency and intensity to the increasingly hot and dry weather conditions linked to climate change.

Flames rise as a wildfire burns in Grammatiko, near Athens, Greece, August 12, 2024. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis (REUTERS)

After its warmest winter on record and long periods of little or no rainfall, Greece also registered its hottest June and July and is forecast to record its hottest-ever summer.

“We are expecting a very difficult week,” said Kostas Lagouvardos, research director of the Athens Observatory. “If the Varnavas blaze is not contained during the night, we will have a problem tomorrow,” he said.

A man reacts as a house is on fire in Varnava village during a wildfire, north of Athens, Greece, Sunday (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Fires have also burned this summer amid extreme heat elsewhere in Europe, including in Spain and the Balkans.

Several other regions across Greece were on high alert for fire risk on Sunday and Monday.

On Saturday, Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said he had called for emergency measures involving the army, police and volunteers to deal with forest fires until August 15.

“Extremely high temperatures and dangerous weather conditions will prevail,” he said.

“Half of Greece will be in the red.”

In April, a European Commission report said the 2023 wildfire season in the Europe was among the worst this century.