Written by Angelos Tsatsis and Carolina Tagaris
VARNAVAS, Greece/ATHENS (Reuters) – Residents fled their homes on Sunday as a fast-spreading wildfire outside Athens was ignited by hot, windy weather, burning trees, homes and cars and sending plumes of smoke over the Greek capital.
More than 400 firefighters, backed by 16 firefighting planes and 13 helicopters, were battling the blaze, which broke out at 3pm (midday GMT) and quickly reached the village of Varnavas, 35 kilometres (22 miles) north of Athens.
As night fell, the firefighting planes stopped working until morning, and the sky turned orange from the flames.
“The situation remains serious as the fire spreads among dwellings,” fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said.
He said the fire spread “like lightning” due to strong winds. Flames reaching 25 metres high engulfed trees and shrubs.
Varnavas is a sparsely populated area with a population of about 1,800, according to the latest census.
“The forces surrounded the village in the blink of an eye. The winds were strong. It started from one point and suddenly the whole village was surrounded,” local resident Katerina Filactou told Reuters.
Hundreds of wildfires have broken out across Greece since May, with scientists attributing their frequency and severity to increasingly hot and dry conditions linked to climate change.
After its warmest winter on record and long periods of little or no rainfall, Greece also recorded its hottest June and July, and is expected to record its hottest summer on record.
“We expect a very difficult week. If the Varnavas fire is not contained overnight, we will have a problem tomorrow,” said Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the Athens Observatory.
Fires have also broken out this summer amid extreme temperatures elsewhere in Europe, including Spain and the Balkans.
“dangerous circumstances”
Authorities issued evacuation warnings for nine areas near Varnavas. By early evening, thick brown smoke hung over much of Athens and reached the island of Aegina to the south.
Another fire that broke out in a forest area near the town of Megara, west of Athens, was contained by Sunday afternoon, the Greek fire brigade said.
Several other areas in Greece were on high alert for fire danger on Sunday and Monday.
Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said on Saturday he had called for emergency measures involving the army, police and volunteers to deal with the forest fires until August 15.
“Temperatures will remain very high and weather conditions will remain dangerous,” he said.
“Half of Greece will be in the red.”
In April, a European Commission report said Europe’s 2023 wildfire season was among the worst this century.
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