Athens: Mass evacuations in the capital's outskirts due to uncontrolled forest fire

A fire that broke out northeast of Athens on Sunday spread to Mount Penteli in the north of the Greek capital, prompting mass evacuations.

How reports Kathimerini, at about 5:00 a.m., residents of the settlements of Nea and Palea Penteli were evacuated, and a little later, an evacuation order was given from the settlements of Drathi, Dioni, Damarasi Rafina, Dau Penteli, Agios Spyridon and Anatoli Nea Makri. At the same time, the staff and patients of the Penteli Children's Hospital and the 414th Military Hospital, the Monastery of Agios Ephraim in the Anatoli area and the Monastery of Penteli were evacuated.

Greek police have moved dozens of people at risk from the fires and issued a statement this morning calling on citizens to follow instructions issued to evacuate areas and not to approach fire-affected areas in their vehicles.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a meeting of the Joint Crisis Management Coordination Centre on Monday morning. Iokeim Ambratsidis, chairman of the Dionysos municipal council in the northern suburbs of Athens, called last night nightmare:

“The fire was spreading uncontrollably, consuming every tree, every house. In our area, Rodopoli, Rapentosa, Stamata were burning, many houses were damaged, but we still don't know how many of them were completely burned and how many were damaged. It's a big disaster. We received five 112 messages overnight alone. The only positive thing was that many people went on vacation, so there was no panic during the evacuation.”

560 firefighters, 177 vehicles, 17 aircraft and 15 helicopters are involved in extinguishing the fire. On Sunday, the area BarnabasA wildfire has broken out near the Greek capital, forcing villagers to flee their homes and filling the Athenian sky with smoke. Hundreds of wildfires have broken out across Greece this summer, which has seen its hottest June and July since its warmest winter. As in other Mediterranean countries, scientists have linked their spread to increasingly hot and dry weather caused by global climate change.

Shortly before 9:30 a.m., a new message was sent to 112 to residents of the villages of Drafi, Dioni and Damarasi Rafina, instructing them to move along Marathon Avenue towards Pallini. At 5:13 a message was sent from 112 to residents of the same areas asking them to move towards Marathon Avenue.

⚠️ Activation of 112 – Emergency Number

🔥 Wildfire in the area of #Daou_Pentelis

🆘 If you are in the area of #Daou_Pentelisevacuate via Marathon Avenue towards #Rafina.

‼️ Follow the instructions of the Authorities

ℹ️ https://t.co/tg45OiBehz@pyrosvestiki… https://t.co/mwZYnzHQ9A

— 112 Greece (@112Greece) August 12, 2024

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