Fire in Megara is out of control: Settlements are evacuated – houses are burning

Throwing all their forces to extinguish the fire in the Pendeli area, firefighters missed the situation in the vicinity of Megara, where the fire covered a large area, coming close to the houses.

Winds that have been blowing for several days with a force of 6-8 on the Beaufort scale pick up any light and within an hour can carry it several kilometers, turning everything into ashes.

And while firefighters threw all their efforts into extinguishing the fire in Pendeli, a relatively small fire in the vicinity of Megara gained strength and, after the wind direction changed around 18:00, went out of control, becoming a threat to settlements.

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The evacuation order was given to the residents of the settlements of Zachuli and Papagianeyka, they were instructed to move towards Megara, while the fire moves both towards Alepochori, which is 5 kilometers away, and towards Megara, while north-north-west winds blow with intensity 6-7 points on the Beaufort scale.

At 18:00 in the afternoon, the wind changed, as a result of which the flames went from one side to an already burned-out area in the mountains of Gerania, and from the other side towards Pekeneas, where agricultural land is located.

The Deputy Governor of Western Attica, Lefteris Kosmopoulos, said the fire was large and stressed: “We have reports of damage to houses in the Zachouli settlement. Firefighters are fighting a battle to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading.”

The mayor of Megara said that the smoke is so dense that there is no visibility, which creates huge problems in extinguishing the fire. According to the mayor, efforts are focused on preventing the fire from crossing the road to Alepochori, however, according to reports, the fire has already crossed into the Pefkentyas area of ​​Megara.

At an emergency briefing on wildfires, Epipyragos Fire Department spokesman Ioannis Artofiou said: “ At 13:41 a new fire broke out in the agroforest in the Veniza Megaron area. The fire continues, and on the recommendation of the head of the fire department, at 14:35, the residents of the village of Zachuli were informed by a message on the number 112 that they had been removed to Alepochori. At the moment, there are 45 firefighters with 2 groups of foot units, 12 vehicles, 7 aircraft and 4 helicopters, one of which is for air coordination and with the assistance of fire department volunteers.

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