Greece wildfires: Chaïdari suburb evacuated as winds fan flames near Athens
New wildfires broke out near Athens on Friday, forcing the evacuation of part of the suburb of Chaïdari as strong winds fanned flames across Greece. Firefighters deployed water bombers and helicopters, while authorities also ordered evacuations in coastal areas and battled blazes on the islands of Paros and Crete.
Fires near Athens
New wildfires broke out west and northwest of Athens on Friday, prompting the Civil Protection to issue a preventive evacuation order for part of Chaïdari, a suburb 11 km from the capital. The alert was sent to mobile phones late in the afternoon as flames approached residential areas. Fire service spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said homes were near the fire front.
Alert messages were therefore sent to call on people in the area to evacuate.
Some 108 firefighters with six ground teams and 27 vehicles were deployed to the Chaïdari blaze, supported by five firefighting aircraft and six helicopters, one of them for coordination. The 112 emergency alert went out at 16:25 for Afaia and the Upper Forest of Chaïdari, and the Dafni psychiatric hospital was evacuated as a precaution, with 16 patients moved to the Attikon hospital. Mayor Michalis Selekos said the fire had raced down the mountain, putting residents at enormous risk, but the firefighters managed to contain it in a ravine. Most inhabitants were later able to return home.
It was a difficult day, and it remains so, but fortunately conditions are more clement.
Evacuations and response
- Water bombers
- 4
- Helicopters
- 5
- Firefighters
- 100
The fire service reported that 51 forest and agricultural fires had broken out across the country in the preceding 24 hours. In the coastal region of Boeotia, 120 km northwest of Athens, 200 people were evacuated by sea from the village of Agios Vassilios. Coast guard and fire service vessels were dispatched to assist.
On the island of Crete, around 8,000 people were evacuated from the area of Rethymno on Wednesday evening. Two firefighters were killed there the same day: they were trapped in their vehicle in the Krya Vrisi area after losing visibility in dense smoke. One was a seasonal firefighter, the other a five-year veteran, and the Fire Service said they fell heroically in the line of duty. Deputy mayor Evangelia Glampedaki said the situation on Crete had improved by Friday. In the eastern Peloponnese, a fire was brought under control before it could reach the Bronze Age archaeological site of Mycenae.
Other blazes across Greece
- 8,000 people evacuated from Rethymnon, Crete, on Wednesday evening
- Preventive evacuation ordered for part of Chaïdari, west of Athens, late afternoon
The new front near Athens followed several fires over the previous four days. The first broke out on the tourist island of Paros in the Cyclades, before spreading to the region around Rethymnon. While the Crete situation stabilised, the risk of new outbreaks remained very high, according to authorities.
Weather and outlook
Winds of around 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) hampered water-bombing aircraft throughout Friday. The gusts, described by officials as literally carrying the fire and spreading it in all directions, kept the country on high alert as most Greeks prepared to begin their summer holidays this weekend. The fire service warned that the danger of further ignitions persisted.
