Greece on high alert as ‘exceptionally dangerous’ wildfire is out of control on Athens’ fringes

ATHENS —  A major wildfire raged out of control in the northern suburbs of Athens on Monday, triggering evacuations of several areas as swirling winds hampered the efforts of hundreds of firefighters and dozens of water-dropping planes.

The massive, fast-moving blaze sent flames to heights of more than 80 feet as Greece sought assistance from other countries, activating Europe’s mutual civil protection mechanism.

The fire began Sunday afternoon about 20 miles northeast of Athens, burning several homes and businesses and sending a blanket of smoke and ash over the city center. Power cuts hit parts of the Greek capital and affected traffic lights at major central junctions.

Authorities said 15 people were injured, mostly due to smoke inhalation, as the blaze reached outlying sections of a suburb nearly 10 miles from the city center. Greece’s National Observatory said late Monday that satellite images show the blaze has affected about 25,000 acres.

France would provide a helicopter, Italy two water-dropping planes and the Czech Republic 75 firefighters and 25 vehicles, officials said, while Serbia and Romania were also readying aid. Neighboring Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the country would dispatch two firefighting planes and a helicopter, and Spain was finalizing reinforcements to send to Greece.

The wildfire raced through pine forests left tinder-dry by repeated heat waves this summer. June and July were the hottest months recorded in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter ever. An early start of the fire season this year has strained Greece’s firefighting force.

“Firefighters have been working at full tilt for months,” said Nikos Lavranos, head of Greece’s main firefighters’ union. “They are exhausted.”

Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Monday that it was “an exceptionally dangerous fire, which we have been fighting for more than 20 hours under dramatic circumstances.” Some areas that were burning on a mountain northeast of Athens were particularly hard to reach, he added.

Three hospitals, including a children’s hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated Monday afternoon, in addition to orders to evacuate more Athens suburbs.

“The wind would go in one direction and then in the other,” said Spyros Gorilas, a resident of the area of Dioni who hosed down his house with water to save it from the flames. “The smoke was suffocating. You couldn’t see. Your eyes teared up. You couldn’t breathe.”

Fire Department spokesperson Col. Vassileios Vathrakogiannis said there were scores of flare-ups in areas where the flames had somewhat abated earlier. More than 700 firefighters, backed by 27 special wildfire teams, and armed forces personnel were battling the flames. More than 190 vehicles were deployed, with aerial support from 17 water-dropping planes and 16 helicopters.

Paramedics and ambulances treated two firefighters — one for light burns and the other for breathing problems — and more than a dozen civilians for breathing problems, Vathrakogiannis said.

Greece’s coast guard diverted all ferries from a nearby port serving several Aegean islands, to another harbor. Sports halls and hotels were turned into evacuation centers.

Authorities said some people who refused to leave their homes later became trapped and required rescuing, endangering the lives of firefighters.

Meteorologists warned of the increased wildfire danger because of weather conditions until Thursday, with half of the country placed under a red alert. Dozens of other wildfires broke out in several parts of Greece on Monday. Wildfires are frequent in the Mediterranean country during its hot, dry summers, but authorities have said climate change is fueling bigger and more frequent blazes.

In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on the roads as they tried to flee in their cars. More than 100 people died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.

Last year, wildfires in Greece killed more than 20 people, including 18 migrants who became trapped by the flames as they trekked through a forest in the northeast and were caught in a massive blaze that burned for more than two weeks.

Wildfires on Monday also hit neighboring North Macedonia and Albania, which have had high summer temperatures and strong winds.

Becatoros writes for the Associated Press. AP journalists Lefteris Pitarakis in Dioni, Derek Gatopoulos in Athens and Elise Morton in London contributed to this report.