Strong winds are bringing a wildfire north of Athens closer to the Greek capital, destroying homes and threatening businesses.
The fire that started about 50 kilometers (31 miles) away in Dervenoxoria has now spread to Mandra, 27 kilometers to the northwest of Athens. “We are living a nightmare,” the Mayor of Mandra Christos Stathis told Open TV Tuesday.
Greek authorities have asked people to evacuate a broader area around Mandra, while police have closed some exits on the Attica Motorway, one of the region’s main highways. The European Union is sending four firefighting planes from France and Italy to assist Greece, as blazes that destroyed houses outside the capital are still burning.
Fires are breaking out across Europe as another blast of heat from the Sahara envelops the Mediterranean. Temperatures in Greece are set to climb toward 44C from Thursday.
Another blaze west of the capital in Loutraki flared up Tuesday morning and is spreading. The fire in the area — popular with Athenians who want a second home close to the beach — is still uncontrolled, a fire department spokesman said in an evening briefing.
Meanwhile, authorities are evacuating some areas and police have closed one of the country’s main highways and all main roads in the region that connect Athens with Loutraki. On the other side of the national motorway and near where the fire is burning is Motor Oil Hellas SA’s refinery.
Other fires in areas southeast of Athens, including Kouvaras, Saronida and Anavissos, have been quelled by firefighters using jets and helicopters. Residents and children from summer camps were evacuated to the nearest beaches on Monday, but only a few animals survived a blaze at a shelter in Kouvaras. The fire destroyed many homes used for short-term rentals in Panorama.
“I have many friends with Airbnb that saw their properties being burnt and their clients left,” said Xara Kovoussi, a resident of Anavissos who took refuge on a nearby beach. “We had headaches and our eyes were burning.”
The state will compensate everyone whose property was damaged or destroyed, the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Monday evening from Brussels.
(Updates with details on wildfire in Loutraki from fifth paragraph.)
