Local sources from Greece: ΘΡΙΑΣΙΟ, Athens24.
UK coverage: BBC.com.
Scottish holidaymakers in Greece were forced to evacuate their accommodation due to nearby wildfires. The Greek prime minister has warned of increased risks of wildfires this summer due to dry conditions, strong winds, and high temperatures. This comes less than a year after 20,000 holidaymakers were evacuated from Rhodes due to wildfires. One holidaymaker described seeing a massive cloud of smoke and feeling scared and nervous during the evacuation.
A night of anxiety is expected in Serifos, due to the fire that broke out on Saturday afternoon on the Cycladic island, as the stormy winds are putting the front out of control. The firefighting effort will be overnight, while reinforcements from Syros with 3 vehicles and 7 firefighters have been sent to the Cycladic island, but they have not yet been able to disembark as the ship that carries them is having difficulty docking due to the weather conditions. Shortly before 11 pm, a second team of reinforcements consisting of 22 firefighters and 11 vehicles departed by ship from Piraeus to Serifos. Since the fire broke out in the afternoon, the island’s only firefighting vehicle with four firefighters, the municipality’s water tankers, and two aircraft and a helicopter have been operating until the last light.
Due to the strong winds of 9-10 Beaufort and the rapid spread of the fire, three ‘112’ messages were issued for the evacuation of residents from the areas of Ramos and Livadi Serifou, Koutalas, Ganema, Vagia, and Kalo Ampeli towards Chora Serifou, Livadakia, and Karavi. According to Fire Brigade officials, the fire, due to the strong winds, is constantly changing directions and in some cases has passed through courtyards of houses. There are reports of damage to a house and a chapel. Due to the very low vegetation, the danger is not immediate for the houses, but the evacuation of residents and tourists from these areas is necessary in order to avoid being trapped in areas where the fire is raging and to avoid problems with smoke. The few ground forces will do their best during the night, along with the reinforcements when it becomes possible for them to assist, and in the morning, they are expected to fly again over the island to carry out water drops.
Authorities urged residents to evacuate an area on the outskirts of Athens where a large fire was ignited by strong winds. The fire department reported that 54 firefighters, with the assistance of six water-dropping aircraft, were trying to control a ‘difficult fire’ near Vari, approximately 30 kilometers south of the center of Athens, in an area with scattered residences. At least two houses were engulfed in flames following a fire that broke out in Koropi, according to local officials. The fire initially broke out in grasslands outside the bypass of Vari-Koropi Avenue, in a boat parking lot near the town of Koropi, and then quickly spread. An emergency message was sent to 112, instructing residents of Lambrika to move towards Agias Marinas Avenue. Shortly after, a second alarm advised residents of Kitsi to move towards Vari. Dozens of fires have broken out in Greece in recent days amid hot summer temperatures, but they were extinguished before causing extensive damage. A high fire risk has been declared for the wider Athens area on Wednesday and Thursday. Fires are common in the dry, hot summers of Greece and have caused dozens of deaths in recent years. Authorities have warned of a particularly high risk this summer following a dry, hot winter that has left vegetation dry. Earlier on Wednesday, the fire department announced that another fire near Markopoulo, east of Athens, and on the island of Evia had been brought under control. Another fire was burning on the island of Naxos in the Aegean.
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