GreekReporter.comGreek NewsMega Fire Burning in Greece, Smoke Reaches North African Shores

Mega Fire Burning in Greece, Smoke Reaches North African Shores

By Paula Tsoni
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Firefighters at the front in Greece
Firefighters and volunteers battled 59 fire fronts across Greece on Saturday. Credit: AMNA / Giota Lotsari

Firefighters and volunteers in Greece on Saturday continued to fight the devastating wildfires that started in Boeotia the previous day, with the flames having spread into Attica, to the dense pine forest around the coastal village of Porto Germeno.

Emergency evacuations were ongoing throughout the day in threatened areas while dozens of houses were reported lost in the flames.

Satellite images from the mega fire raging in western Attica, in the outskirts of Athens, showed the smoke crossing the Mediterranean Sea and reaching the north shores of Africa, more than 750 kilometers in distance.

The fires that originally started at Xironomi and Kalamaki in Boeotia on Friday morning had spread over a vast area, swallowing up large tracts of land and destroying several houses in their path, AMNA reports.

Gale force winds prevented aerial firefighting efforts for most of the day while ground forces battled restlessly the flames hand in hand with volunteers.

Emergency evacuations continue as vast areas burn

Firefighting efforts continued on three fronts on Porto Germeno; one heading toward the Kithairon mountain ridge, one at Agia Paraskevi, and one from Mytikas toward Psatha.

By Saturday afternoon, the ground forces deployed to the area were increased to 496 firefighters, supported by 22 teams from the Special Forest Operations Unit (EMODE), volunteers and 134 fire engines and other vehicles, according to the latest update from the Hellenic Fire Service.

These included 23 firefighters and four vehicles sent by France and 23 firefighters with four vehicles from Romania.

Air support was being provided by 19 firefighting aircraft and 11 helicopters. The Fire Service said that very strong and gale-force winds were still creating very difficult conditions, which prevented aerial means from restocking on water or carrying out water drops because of severe turbulence, despite the continuous efforts of the crews.

A local mayor said more than one hundred houses had burnt in the area.

Fires burning in regions across Greece

In Boeotia, where the mega fire started from, firefighters were focusing their efforts at two locations, one north of Domvraina and the second at Livadostra.

Additional reinforcements were sent to fight a forest fire that started at 2pm local time on Saturday in Skaloma, Fokida, Central Greece.

The force battling the blaze was increased to 42 firefighters and two ground units, nine vehicles, eight firefighting aircraft and three helicopters, assisted by local authority water tankers and heavy machinery.

A new emergency alert was sent to residents to evacuate Pefkaki and Efpalio late on Saturday. Earlier, residents were called to evacuate Magoula in the direction of Monastiraki and the villages Klima, Pigi, Koukoura and Nea Koukoura toward Pefkaki and Efpalio.

The National Crisis Management and Operations Coordination Centre is receiving constant updates of the fire’s progress from drones equipped with thermal and optical cameras.

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