Greece contains new wind-driven fire near Athens
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Nearly 200 firefighters and around 40 vehicles were deployed to fight the blaze in Kouvaras.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- A wind-driven wildfire near Athens on Aug 10 was brought under control after three hours, with firefighters deploying nearly 200 personnel and aerial support.
- The fire destroyed a livestock farm warehouse and forced evacuations of several residential areas, amid high temperatures and strong winds.
- Greece faces very high fire risk due to climate change, with 42% of Attica's forest burnt by 15 major fires from 2017 to 2026, raising extreme alert levels.
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ATHENS – A wind-driven wildfire that broke out on Aug 10 near the Greek capital of Athens has been brought under control, firefighters said.
The fire, fed by winds of more than 70kmh, began around 8am local time in Kouvaras, 60km south-east of Athens.
The authorities immediately deployed a major response of nearly 200 firefighters, around 40 vehicles supported by two water‑bombing planes and four helicopters.
Three hours later, the flames had subsided and the situation appeared much better, an AFP photographer observed.
Early in the afternoon, “the situation has greatly improved,” the fire service press office reported.
“There is no active front, but we are maintaining our presence in the area, where temperatures remain high with strong gusts of wind,” the same source said.
The warehouse of a livestock farm was destroyed by the flames, according to images from Ertnews, which showed firefighters battling the fire on a mountainside farm. Several residential areas had to be evacuated.
The Aug 10 blaze marks the second fire near Athens this summer. One that broke out on July 31 north-west of the Greek capital and destroyed more than 11,000ha of pine forest and farmland.
A large part of the country faces a very high fire risk on Aug 10 because of summer heat, with temperatures of up to 37 deg C in the Attica region combined with strong gusts.
Like much of the Mediterranean, Greece has experienced increasingly frequent and intense wildfires that scientists link to climate change. The country remains on extreme alert on Aug 10, with several regions classified as being at a very high fire risk – level four on a five-point scale.
Experts have warned about the increased severity of the fires affecting Attica, where Athens is located.
From 2017 to 2026, 42 per cent of the total forest area in the region burnt because of 15 major fires. AFP
