73 fires were raging across Greece on Friday afternoon, prompting the European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service to be activated to map the worst affected areas in the Municipality of Thebes in Boeotia and the Municipality of Mandra-Eidyllia in the outskirts of Athens.
The dramatic evacuation of citizens by land and sea started in Boeotia and west Athens suburbs on Friday afternoon and continued on Saturday morning as the fire crossed from Boeotia into western Attica and the coastal town of Porto Germeno in the early hours.
More citizens were evacuated during the night also in Achaia, northern Peloponese.
Gale-force winds of up to 9 Beaufort made firefighting efforts by air difficult or even impossible in many regions, whilst the fire brigade kept fighting on multiple fronts overnight.
Earlier this week three firefighters tragically died in service; two in Rethymnon on the island of Crete, and one in Gytheio, on the southernmost end of the Peloponese.
🇬🇷🔥Fire Greece Porto Germeno Attica – Meteology Live App pic.twitter.com/eljgilorwc
— Meteology Live (@AppMeteology) August 1, 2026
Two Athens suburban areas evacuated as fires spread
Two Athens suburban areas have been affected by the wildfires and citizens in the Athens metropolitan area received multiple 112 emergency alerts on their phone on Friday, warning them to avoid moving towards the fires and how to evacuate if they were already there.
The fire at Poikilon Oros, the low mountain in the west of Athens near Aigaleo and Haidari, engaged 95 firefighters with 6 forest firefighting units, volunteers, and 22 fire engines with the help of water tankers from the Region of Attica working to extinguish the blaze. Patients were evacuated from the nearby Psychiatric Hospital of Dafni as the fire was spreading to residences.
A total of 7 aircraft and 7 helicopters were also operating in the same area, however aerial firefighting means were hampered in many instances in drawing water because of gale-force winds affecting flight safety.
Meanwhile, the fire from Agios Vassileios on Boetoia, where citizens and holidaymamkers were evacuated on Friday, through the night crossed over also into Western Attica and the coastal town of Porto Germeno, forcing authorities to evacuate more citizens by sea at dawn on Saturday as the blaze changed direction due to gale winds and started to move towards the beach.
At least three houses were engulfed by the flames.
Η φωτιά στο Πόρτο Γερμενό πλησιάζει τα πρώτα σπίτια. pic.twitter.com/BheFSZTfHI
— Areti Athanasiou (@AretiAthanasiu) July 31, 2026
Boeotia fire raging for second day
More than 300 firefighters with 57 fire engines and 10 units of forest firefighters continued to battle the blaze in Boeotia’s Kalamaki and Xironomi on Saturday. The National Defence General Staff provided a fire team and machinery to clear fire zones in cooperation with the Forestry Service, AMNA reported.
The Central Greece Region provided water tankers and construction machinery, while Hellenic Police forces were spread in the greater area to regulate traffic and facilitate residents’ evacuation. Emergency aid ambulances are also standing by.
The fire developed towards the coastal settlement of Aghios Vassilios, prompting 112 messages to alert residents or call them to evacuate the general area.
Earlier in the day, a Fire Brigade ship and a high-speed boat, as well as Coast Guard inflatable boats and private yachts, safely evacuated 254 people.
The fires in Archontochori near Amfilochia (western Greece), Floka in the prefecture of Achaia (northern Peloponnese), and Chinitsa in the Argolid (northeastern Peloponnese) were subsiding, while the blaze at Marathos in Evritania (Central Greece) is under control.
The risk of fire remained extremely high in Attica and Evia island on Saturday and very high in the rest of Greece. All Civil Protection forces are on emergency call, and all services of the Fire Brigade are on alert.
EU Emergency Satellite Mapping Service activated
According to an announcement by the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service – Mapping was activated under code EMSR 909 on Friday.
The activation aims to map and collect data on areas in the Municipality of Thebes, in the Regional Unit of Boeotia, Central Greece Region; and the Municipality of Mandra-Eidyllia, in the Regional Unit of West Attica, which were the worst affected by the wildfires that broke out on Friday, July 31, 2026.
The material will assist the authorities and agencies involved in emergency response operations and in managing the consequences of the fires.
The request was accepted by the European Union, with a series of mapping products generated through the analysis of satellite imagery expected to be made available shortly.
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