Two-Front Fire With Flames Up To 80' High Moving Northeast Of Athens; Evacuations Accelerating

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The fire, which began Sunday, is “exceptionally dangerous,” Greek Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said, according to the Associated Press. Kikilias said Monday that the fire was burning on two main fronts, and that parts of the fire were in dense forest areas that were difficult to access. He said emergency personnel had “been fighting for more than 20 hours under dramatic circumstances.”

Residents of over a dozen areas, including several suburbs of Athens, received a flurry of emergency alerts urging them to leave their homes for areas not in the path of the fire. The evacuation orders covered Nea Penteli, a municipality about eight miles north of Athens.

Greek police said they helped 250 people leave dangerous areas and urged residents of at-risk areas to follow evacuation orders and not return until given the all-clear. A children’s hospital, a military hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated early Monday, the Associated Press reported. Authorities set up shelters overnight for those forced to leave their homes.

Some 27 teams of wildfire specialists and 670 firefighters were deployed to try to contain the flames using over 180 firefighting vehicles and 32 aircraft, Kikilias said. Two firefighters were slightly injured, and 13 others were treated in hospitals for smoke inhalation, fire brigade spokesman Vasilis Vathrakogiannis said.

EDIT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/08/12/wildfire-athens-greece/

https://wapo.st/46K2VE3