Six parts of Attica on standby after blazes

Six areas of Attica were declared to be in a state of emergency on Thursday following large wildfires on Wednesday, while firefighters were taxed by new blazes on another day of strong winds and tinderbox conditions.

The municipalities of Anavyssos, Palaia Fokaia, Saronida, Kalyvia-Thorikou, Keratea and Lavreotiki were all on standby on Thursday after wildfires that broke out on Wednesday damaged dozens of homes.

The mayor of Lavreotiki, Dimitris Loukas, told Kathimerini that six villages in the area had been affected by the fire with a total of 30 homes suffering damage, many of them primary residences.

Meanwhile dozens of firefighters were dispatched to douse two more large fires – one near a 10th-century monastery at Neos Voutzas, a coastal settlement that was ravaged along with Mati in the catastrophic wildfires of 2018, and the other in Loutsa. Both were contained by firefighters before they could threaten residential areas.

There were no reports of any injuries from Wednesday’s or Thursday’s fires. Meanwhile state inspectors were seeking to assess the extent of the damage so that the municipalities can receive compensation.

In a related development, a man was briefly detained in connection with a large fire that broke out in Keratea on Wednesday after a number of local residents reported seeing him acting suspiciously in the area where the fire broke out. He was released due to a lack of evidence linking him to the fire.