A wildfire burned via a northern suburb of the Greek capital of Athens on Saturday and a few residents had been ordered to evacuate, the nation’s Fireplace Service reported.
Residents of the city of Kryoneri, 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) northeast of Athens obtained three SMS messages to evacuate to protected areas, Fireplace Service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyannis advised reporters.
Greek media have proven homes on fireplace. The spokesman mentioned “there have been studies of damages. We’ll take inventory when the fires have been put out.”
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“The true difficulties are forward of us,” Vathrakoyannis mentioned, including that Greece has requested for six firefighting planes from the European Union’s Civil Safety Mechanism.
On web site, 145 firefighters and 44 fireplace engines, 10 firefighting planes and 7 helicopters are trying to place out the hearth, whose origin is unknown. 4 ambulances are treating a minimum of 5 residents, most of them aged with respiratory issues.
Temperatures reaching, or exceeding, 38 levels Celsius (100 levels Fahrenheit), dry situations and excessive winds are fanning the flames.
Below such situations wildfires “increase in a short time and turn into harmful. These situations are anticipated to prevail over the approaching days,” Vathrakoyannis mentioned.
The hearth service can also be coping with three different main fires within the southwest on Greece’s two largest islands — Crete within the south and Evia north of Athens — and likewise on the island of Kythera, northwest of Crete. A minimum of 335 firefighters, 19 planes and 13 helicopters are concerned, however can solely function in daylight. In complete, 52 wildfires broke out throughout the nation over the previous 24 hours, the spokesman mentioned.
Wildfires, lots of them damaging, have turn into a typical incidence in Greece lately. A number of have damaged out prior to now month.
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