France is sending firefighters to help Greece tame a massive wildfire burning through the northern suburbs of Athens. The move comes after Greece asked for help from the European Union.
France has sent 180 firefighters, 55 trucks and a helicopter to help fight the fires, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Monday.
The EU said that France, along with Italy, the Czech Republic and Romania sent aid under the EU’s civil protection mechanism after Greece formally requested assistance.
Help from Spain and Turkey is also being "finalised", the Greek civil protection ministry said.
Over 700 firefighters with nearly 200 fire engines and over 30 aircraft have been trying to contain the fire, which started Sunday afternoon in the town of Varnavas near Lake Marathon, some 35 kilometres northeast of Athens.
Winds pushed it across Mount Penteli, burning pine forests left dry from repeated heat waves this summer, towards the capital’s northern suburbs.
Fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said the winds rekindled the fire in 40 different locations on Monday.
Flames reached more than 25 metres high in places along the front line, according to state TV ERT.
Television footage showed dramatic images of the roofs of stately homes in the leafy suburbs burning as water-bombing helicopters roared overhead.
The fire has forced residents to leave their homes, and authorities opened the Olympic stadium in northern Athens and other stadiums to house thousands of people evacuated from the path of the blaze.
A children's hospital and a military medical facility in Penteli were evacuated at dawn, Vathrakogiannis said. Another hospital was evacuated during the day.
Meteorologists warned that high temperatures and winds would continue through Thursday, increasing the danger of wildfires. Dozens of smaller fires broke out in several parts of the country on Monday.
Summer wildfires are frequent in Greece, but this year, after the warmest winter and hottest June and July on record, has seen dozens of daily fires, whose frequency and intensity authorities say have been fueled by climate change.
(with AFP)
