Greece evacuates Athens suburb under wildfire threat

• A wildfire triggered by gale-force winds ripped through vegetation in southern Athens.
• Six water-bombing planes, three helicopters, and municipal water tankers.
• fires destroy more than 100,000 hectares of forest and farmland.

A wildfire triggered by gale-force winds ripped through vegetation in a southern Athens suburb on Saturday, forcing residents to flee, According to the Fire Brigade.

The Greek Civil Protection issued an emergency SMS alerting inhabitants to escape Ano Voula and the surrounding districts as the flames advanced to within yards (metres) of buildings.

Six water-bombing planes, three helicopters, and municipal water tankers, as well as 20 fire engines, aided hundreds of firemen.

Ant1 tv station showed policemen telling people they should leave.

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Media reported a power cut in the area where some roofs, gardens and vehicles had been damaged by the blaze.

Skai tv station showed footage of a burning house with flames licking inside.

“The situation is very difficult and the wind does not help,” said Giannis Konstantatos, mayor of Ellinikon-Argiroupoli, a neighboring municipality, who also heads a conservation group for nearby mount Imittos.

“The atmosphere is suffocating, we have difficulty breathing,” he told Athens News Agency.

Giorgos Papanikolaou, the mayor of Glyfada, where the fire broke out, said it all started at a high voltage electricity power station, the agency added.

Last summer, Greece’s most severe heatwave in decades, which authorities blamed on climate change, saw fires destroy more than 100,000 hectares of forest and farmland, the country’s worst wildfire damage since 2007.

In the near future, some 200 firefighters and technological equipment from European Union countries will be transported to Greece to assist in the fight against large wildfires.

Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Romania, and Norway will be part of the deployment, which will be coordinated by the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism.

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