5 hours Ago
Portions of the scenic highway linking Athens with Sounion, where the ancient Temple of Poseidon rests, were closed as the flames edged dangerously close to homes and infrastructure. Police cleared at least 40 people from the area and cleared five different zones.
Response by Land, by air, by Sea.
A colonel in the fire department, Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, said that the ground and air units had been fighting a pitched battle with the flames, especially around residential areas. The operation involved 130 firefighters, 12 helicopters, 12 water-dropping planes and several volunteer forces.
Sea-based resources were also deployed. A coastguard vessel was dousing seawater and two patrol boats and nine private boats were on alert to perform emergency sea evacuations. Ambulances were on standby, but as of late afternoon, there had been no reports of injuries.
Some houses might have been damaged but estimations were ongoing, said local mayor Dimitris Loukas. Residents in the area were warned to evacuate immediately by local officials, including councillor Apostolos Papadakis.
Challenges mount as Heat, Winds and Arson Fears Stoke Fires
The cause of the fire is not yet known and arson investigators have been dispatched to the factory. The Athens area and several Aegean islands continue to be at Level 4 wildfire risk because of hot, dry weather.
It comes after a large fire on the island of Chios earlier in the week, which was only brought under control after a four-day operation. Greece has a grim history of summer wildfires, among them the fatal 2018 Mati fire, which left more than 100 people dead.
