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Wildfire Breaks Out at Porto Germeno West of Athens

Wildfire Porto Germeno west Athens
Credit: Greek Reporter/File photo

A large wildfire broke out at Porto Germeno, a seaside resort west of Athens on Tuesday at noon forcing authorities to evacuate a nearby village.

Strong north-westerly winds in the area of the Gulf of Corinth are pushing the fire towards the town of Psatha.

According to the Fire Service, a total of 130 firefighters are operating with 35 vehicles, including Romanian firefighters who arrived last week to assist the work of their Greek colleagues during the summer firefighting season.

Firefighters are being aided by five water-dumping airplanes and two helicopters.

The area at Porto Germeno difficult to access

“Unfortunately, the fire is progressing, despite the fact that planes are constantly dropping water,” the deputy mayor of the municipality of Mandra-Idyllia, Panagiotis Kolovenzos said.

He added that the area is difficult to be accessed by firefighters and equipment, as there are many narrow and steep ravines.

Two large wildfires that threatened Itea and Kranidi, two of Greece’s top luxury resorts on Tuesday, are partially under control, the Fire Service says.

Fanned by strong winds registering up to six on the Beaufort scale, the fire at Itea burned its way through olive groves.

A luxury hotel in Kranidi, Argolida, was evacuated on Monday evening after parts of the premises were damaged by a large wildfire that broke out in the forest area of the Korakia area and spread to the hotel.

52 wildfires were recorded in Greece in 24 hours

A total of 52 wildfires were recorded throughout Greece in the last 24 hours.

A wildfire that broke on Monday at Schimatari north of Athens was eventually brought under control.

At one point, municipal authorities called for the precautionary evacuation of Dilesi, a seaside resort town in the region of Viotia.

Authorities in Greece issued warnings of fires on Saturday as the country is experiencing blistering winds and high temperatures.

According to the General Secretariat of Civil Protection, areas most at risk are the North Aegean (Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Ikaria), Attica (including the island of Kythira), Central Greece (Viotia, Evia), the Peloponnese, and Western Greece (Ilia, Achaia).

The Secretariat called on citizens to avoid any open-air activities that can cause a fire due to negligence.

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