Large wildfire breaks out in Keratea, evacuation ordered for several settlements
A large wildfire broke out southeast of the Greek capital in the area of Keratea on Sunday afternoon, with residents in several settlement told to move to a safer area.
According to local authorities the fire is burning houses, while strong winds are inhibiting firefighting efforts.
Deputy Mayor of Lavreotiki, Athanasios Makrodimitris, said to Kathimerini that the fire has hotspots scattered across several areas.
“Before my eyes, two or three houses are burning,” noted Makrodimitris, adding that “we need many more waterbombers, new hotspots are constantly being created.”
Some 138 firefighters, with 37 vehicles have been dispatched to the scene. Nine waterbombers and eight helicopters are also assisting from the air. Attica’s regional authorities are also contributing to the operation with 10 water tankers and two excavators.
A message from 122 has been sent to residents of Palaiokamariza, Markati, Plaka, Panorama, Agios Konstantinos and Agios Georgios Thorikou to evacuate towards Lavrio.
According to ERT, authorities have evacuated 52 people from their houses.
Speaking to Kathimerini, the Director of Civil Protection for the Attica Region, Nikos Passas, stated that there is very large front inside a residential area that heads towards Merkati. He stated that as the fire burns low vegetation, it spreads very quickly.
Earlier, Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias held a coordination meeting about the fire at the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection.
