Woman Killed in Greece Wildfire as Firefighters Battle to Protect Athens Suburbs
A wildfire burning on the northern outskirts of the Greek capital of Athens has claimed the life of a woman but firefighters say lighter winds are assisting them in tackling the blaze.
The fire broke out on Aug. 11 near the village of Varnavas, 20 miles north of Athens, and destroyed acres of tinder-dry forest, homes, and cars.
Fanned by high winds the fire spread southward, and was threatening the village of Grammatiko, the ancient town of Marathon, and the seaside resort of Nea Makri.
By Monday night it reached Vrilissia, 8 miles from downtown Athens, where firefighters discovered the body of a woman in an industrial building.
She is believed to have been an employee who became trapped in her workplace in an area that had been under orders to evacuate. So far she has not been identified.
The fire department said more than a dozen people were treated by paramedics, mostly for smoke inhalation.
Children’s Hospital Evacuated
Three hospitals, including a children’s hospital, two monasteries and a residential home for young people have been evacuated.
More than 250 residents have been evacuated from the northern suburbs of Athens.
Hundreds of firefighters, backed by fire engines and waterbombing planes and helicopters, have managed to slow the fire’s advance into populated areas.
But winds are forecast to pick up again later on Tuesday and, with temperatures hovering around 104 degrees F, firefighters face a difficult task in preventing thousands of properties from being burned.
“The overall picture looks improved but there are still many fronts in various areasm,” a fire brigade official said.
Local newspaper Proto Thema said 39 square miles and 100 homes had been burned.
Having gone for months with little rain, most of Greece’s forests are tinder-dry and the country is forecast to have its hottest summer on record.
Greece has activated the European civil protection mechanism, and is due to receive assistance from France, Italy, and the Czech Republic.
Spain and Turkey have also offered their help.
Passenger ferries have been diverted away from the port of Rafina, which is northeast of the capital.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cut short his vacation in Crete Monday and returned to Athens.
Greece often has long, dry summers and in recent years fighting fires has become a regular occurrence for the country.
In 2018, a fire killed 104 people in the seaside resort of Mati, near Athens, and last year, 20 people were killed by fire in northeast Greece.
In September, Mitsotakis gave a keynote speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair, where he said he would recruit more firefighters and forestry workers and increase taxes for tourists in Greece to pay for a 600 million euro ($655 million) climate change fund.
Greece isn’t the only country grappling with wildfires this year.
There have been similar issues in other parts of the Balkans and in Spain.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
