Wildfires sweep north Athens suburbs, residents order evacuation – National

A wildfire burned through the northern suburbs of the Greek capital Athens on Saturday, and some residents were evacuated, according to the country’s fire department.

Residents of the town of Kryoneri, 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) northeast of Athens, received three SMS messages to evacuate to a safe area, fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyannis told reporters.

Greek media showed the house on fire. “There have been reports of losses. We will take stocks when the fire is put out,” the spokesperson said.

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“The real difficulty is ahead of us,” Vathrakoyannis said, adding that Greece has asked six firefighting aircraft to be built in the EU’s civil protection mechanism.

At the scene, there were 145 firefighters and 44 fire trucks, 10 fire planes and 7 helicopters trying to put out the fire, and the origin is unknown. Four ambulances are treating at least five residents, most of whom are elderly people with respiratory problems.

At or above 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), dry conditions and strong winds reach the flame.

In this case, wildfires “expand rapidly and become dangerous. These conditions are expected to prevail in the coming days,” Vathrakoyannis said.

The fire department also deals with two of the largest islands in southwestern Greece (Crete in the south and Evia in the north of Athens) and the island of Caesara in northwestern Crete. At least 335 firefighters, 19 aircraft and 13 helicopters were involved, but they could only operate in sunlight. A total of 52 wildfires broke out nationwide in the past 24 hours, a spokesperson said.

Wildfires, many of which are destructive, have become a common occurrence in Greece in recent years. There have been several outbreaks in the past month.