Wildfire rages in forest area near Athens

Dozens of firefighters were battling on Saturday to stop a wildfire from spreading to a nature reserve in a mountainous forest area on the outskirts of the Greek capital, the fire service said.

About 80 firefighters assisted by 12 water-carrying planes were trying to control the fire on Mount Parnitha, some 20 km (12 miles) north of Athens, which was being fuelled by gale-force winds.

“Sizeable forces on the ground are fighting a huge fight,” fire brigade spokesperson Vasilis Vathrakogiannis said during a televised briefing. Gusts of wind exceeding 100 km per hour (62 mph) were hampering their efforts, he said.

Another 100 firefighters stationed elsewhere in the country were expected to join those already working at the scene, Vathrakogiannis added.

A thick cloud of smoke could be seen in the sky over Athens, which is flanked by mountains, but a local official said no homes were threatened by the fire.

“The situation is stable so far,” a deputy governor for part of Athens, Costas Zobos, told state television.

With hot, windy conditions across much of the country, some 40 landscape fires have broken out since the early morning hours on Saturday and authorities advised people to stay out of forest areas.

Winds are not expected to weaken before Sunday, meteorologists said.

Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country, but they have become more devastating in recent years as summers have become hotter, drier and windier, which scientists link to the effects of climate change.

After last summer’s deadly forest fires and following its hottest winter on record, Greece developed a new doctrine, which includes deploying an extra fire truck to each new blaze, speeding up air support and clearing forests.

A big part of Mount Parnitha’s nature reserve, full of pines and fir trees, was destroyed by a large fire in 2007. 

[Reuters]