Blazes near Athens ease, firefighters on alert
Two wildfires that burned near Athens since Sunday, destroying dozens of houses and vehicles had eased by Monday morning, officials said.
More than 100 firefighters in full gear with 42 water engines and seven units on foot worked all night to contain the flames in a sparsely-populated area near the town of Keratea, some 35 kms (22 miles) south of Athens. In the first light of day, two helicopters were added to the firefighting efforts. Authorities said they were on standby to prevent the scattered fires from spreading.
On Sunday, authorities had ordered evacuations before flames from burning pine and olive trees engulfed at least 10 houses.
“I estimate that we have 10 to 15 houses with damages, big or small, in [the settlements of] Plaka and Markati,” Lavreotiki mayor, Dimitris Loukas, told Kathimerini on Sunday night.
Another fire in the community of Stamata north of Athens had been contained by Monday morning, after burning a lush pine forest, sending columns of smoke over parts of the city. No houses were burned but a 45-year-old local resident suffered a heart attack and died.
A large firefighting contingent remained in the area to deal with the flames that reignited.
Meanwhile, firefighters were still battling two large wildfires in the Ionian island of Zakynthos and in Viotia, central Greece.
