Wildfires that have been burning near Athens for four days intensified again today, threatening both residential and industrial areas west of the Greek capital, despite weakening winds and the deployment of hundreds of firefighters.
After a slight improvement during the morning, authorities reported flames flaring up again during the afternoon in the Kandyli area, one of the fire’s main fronts.
“Although the wind has slowed in the region, in Kandyli there are still gusts and updrafts created by rising hot air, and we are seeing a resurgence of the fire,” said Megara mayor Panagiotis Margetis.
According to the mayor, no damage to homes or businesses has been recorded so far in the Kandyli and Agia Skepi areas, roughly 50 kilometers northwest of Athens. Margetis warned, however, that the fire is constantly changing direction and is approaching the industrial zone of Megara, a city of more than 20,000 residents, calling the situation very dangerous.
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Firefighters confirmed the blaze intensified again during the afternoon, though they noted this was expected given several active fire fronts still burning. Earlier in the day, fire department spokesperson Yannis Artopios had noted an improvement in conditions but warned there was absolutely no reason to lower their guard.
Around 450 firefighters, supported by 22 specialized wildfire units and 126 vehicles, are currently deployed in the region. From the air, operations are being supported by 12 helicopters and 16 firefighting aircraft.
New evacuations were ordered during the morning in areas near Kandyli, according to Greece’s Civil Protection agency.
Winds, which exceeded 100 kilometers per hour in the Attica region in recent days, have eased significantly, but authorities fear that rising temperatures, expected to reach 37 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, could worsen conditions again.
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The fires have primarily affected forested and agricultural areas, including extensive olive groves, with relatively few homes destroyed so far. “It’s a total disaster. What happened is unacceptable,” said Konstantinos Makrinoris, former mayor of Vilia, near Porto Germeno, adding that the flames had traveled roughly 45 kilometers from where the fire originally started.
Fire risk remains very high, at level four on a five-point scale, across Attica and the neighboring region of Boeotia, according to Civil Protection. Other smaller fires recorded elsewhere in the country, including on the Ionian Sea island of Cephalonia, have since been brought under control.
More than 12,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land have burned in Greece over the past week, according to data based on analysis from the European Copernicus program.
The current wave of fires has already claimed the lives of three firefighters. A helicopter pilot and co-pilot also died Sunday after colliding with another aircraft during a firefighting operation near Psatha. Two employees of an electricity company have since been detained as part of the investigation into the fire’s cause, which Greek media report may have started from a spark caused by an electrical cable.
