Huge wildfires have broken out across Greece following a week-long heatwave that pushed temperatures above 45C, forcing thousands to flee their homes as flames swept through villages near Athens and several Greek islands.
One major blaze tore through a northern suburb of the Greek capital on Saturday, prompting urgent evacuation orders, the country’s Fire Service confirmed. Residents in Kryoneri, around 12 miles northeast of Athens, received three SMS alerts instructing them to move to safer areas, while nearby Drosopigi village was blanketed in smoke as explosions echoed from factories housing flammable materials.
Helicopters were deployed to drop water as 65 firefighters, 26 vehicles and two aircraft tackled the flames. Authorities also reported battling three other large wildfires on Greece’s biggest islands, Crete and Evia.
A fire department spokesperson said that at least 52 wildfires had broken out across the country in the previous 24 hours, with strong winds fuelling the spread and triggering further evacuations.
On Evia, 115 firefighters and 24 vehicles, backed by six aircraft and seven helicopters, worked to bring the fires under control. Residents in the Triada area were warned to prepare for possible evacuation as wind conditions worsened.
Elsewhere, the villages of Aroniadika, Pitsinades and Aryoi on the island of Kythera were evacuated, as were Kryoneri and Sellas in Messinia, west of Athens. These regions had already been placed on high alert due to extreme temperatures and forecasted winds.
The Greek weather service said temperatures were expected to reach 44C on Saturday, compounding concerns.
Fires have become an increasingly frequent and destructive problem in Greece, which, along with several Mediterranean countries, lies within what scientists describe as a “wildfire hotspot” during hot and dry summer months.