Fire in Greece: 10,000 hectares, buildings and vehicles destroyed, French firefighters… update on the situation

Greek firefighters made progress Tuesday in their fight against a massive forest fire that ravaged the suburbs of Athens for three days, killing a woman, causing extensive damage and displacing thousands of people.

"There is improvement on the whole front", said Costas Tsigkas, head of the Greek firefighters' association, on Tuesday morning on the ERT television channel . "There are pockets of flames all over the front", however, a fire department spokesperson told AFP .

"We find ourselves without clothes, without money"

Tuesday morning, the body of a Moldovan woman in her sixties was found in a charred factory in Halandri, near Athens, according to the authorities. 66 people and five firefighters were also injured. Fueled by strong winds, Greece's worst forest fire of the year spread across a dry territory and ravaged 10,000 hectares, destroying countless buildings and vehicles.

Dozens Evacuation instructions have been sent to residents in the area. Several stadiums have been opened to accommodate displaced people and animals rescued from the flames. Halandri Mayor Simos Roussos told ERT public television that he had seen about ten houses destroyed by the fire. “The fire traveled 50 kilometres and changed direction 10 times”, Mr Roussos said.

The mayors of Penteli and Varnavas, where the fire broke out on Sunday, also reported about ten houses destroyed in their areas. As most of the factories that burned contained toxic chemicals, the Greek Ministry of Labor ordered a temporary halt to outdoor work in the area.

Most of the capital was covered in acrid smoke for two days straight, and scientists reported an alarming increase in hazardous airborne particles, particularly overnight from Sunday to Monday.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said on Tuesday that his organization was"ready to help meet the urgent health needs of affected communities". "We urge world leaders to keep their promises by matter of climate action, NOW", he insisted on X.

"Never in my life would I have imagined that fire would come here", said to AFP Sakis Morfis, in front of his gutted house in the suburbs of Vrillisia, one of the towns affected by the flames. "We find ourselves without clothes, without money, everything burned inside", added this 65-year-old man.

Fueled by strong winds, the fire has grown into a flame front 30 kilometres long and more than 25 metres high in places, according to ERT. The temperature is around 38°C in Athens on Tuesday, with winds of 70 km/h according to the Greek National Observatory.

French firefighters

Around 700 firefighters, accompanied by 200 vehicles and nine planes are for the third day in a row battling the fire that broke out on Sunday afternoon in the town of Varnavas, some 35 kilometres northeast of Athens.

Nearly 300 additional firefighters, as well as additional helicopters, fire engines and tankers, are expected Tuesday from six countries after the Greek authorities called for help. A first contingent of 91 rescue workers left France Tuesday at dawn, AFP noted.

The conservative government was attacked in the press Tuesday. “Enough is enough”, thunders the centrist daily Ta Nea, the country's best-selling, while the liberal Kathimerini believes that this fire “out of control” left “questions that still need answers”.

Many other media outlets paint a picture of a “nightmare”, including the pro-government newspaper Eleftheros Typos. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cut short his holiday to return to the capital on Sunday. Footage showed him visiting the Civil Protection Ministry on Monday, but he has not yet spoken publicly.

The fire has revived memories of the Mati fire disaster, the coastal area near Marathon where 104 people died in July 2018 in a tragedy blamed on evacuation delays and errors. Greece is particularly vulnerable to wildfires after a very dry winter. June and July were the hottest months on record.

Other parts of Europe are also currently battling heatwaves, including France and Italy. Scientists warn that fossil fuel emissions are worsening the duration, frequency and intensity of heatwaves around the world.