Greece orders evacuations as wildfire rages out of control near Athens
manchestereveningnews.co.ukHundreds of people are being evacuated in Greece as firefighters battle a major forest fire raging out of control near the capital city athens.
The blaze began on Sunday afternoon and spread through pine forests left tinder-dry by repeated heatwaves this summer. Numerous evacuation orders for Athens suburbs and outlying areas have been issued as strong winds hampered the efforts of hundreds of firefighters and several water-dropping planes.
June and July of this year were the hottest months ever recorded in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter ever. Authorities were faced with “an exceptionally dangerous fire, which we have been fighting for more than 20 hours under dramatic circumstances”, climate crisis and civil protection minister Vassilis Kikilias said mid-morning on Monday.
The fire was burning mainly on two separate fronts, with some parts in particularly difficult to reach areas on a mountain north east of Athens, Mr Kikilias said. READ MORE: Warning to UK tourists as Canary Islands placed under ‘state of alert’ The fire department said 670 firefighters, backed by 27 teams specially trained to tackle wildfires and including more than 80 armed forces personnel, were battling the flames.
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