Greece. Flames rage near Athens. Evacuations are underway since morning

According to eKathimerini, the fire that broke out on Sunday near the town of Varnavas, 35 kilometres north of Athens, spread overnight to the nearby Pentelikon massif. Due to the rapid pace of the fire, a decision was made to evacuate towns on the slopes of the mountain.

“Forest fire near you. Follow the authorities' orders” – text messages with such content were sent to all people in the threatened area on Monday morning. The direction in which to evacuate was also given.

– I was told to leave, they said the situation had gotten out of control. There are gas cylinders and an oil tank in the house. This is my place of residence, the fruit of hard work – said a resident of one of the threatened towns, watching his house go up in flames.

On Sunday and at night, 300 firefighters fought the fire. Twelve firefighting planes and seven helicopters took part in the extinguishing operation. As reported by eKathimerini, the fire was moving towards Lake Marathon, a reservoir of drinking water for Athens. The flames were over 25 meters high.

– The fire broke into the village within 10 minutes, Katerina Fylaktou, who fled the blaze with her children and dog, told Skai TV. She added that many people fled their homes in panic.

Fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said the fire had become very large due to the wind blowing in the area.

Two major fires broke out in the Greek capital on Sunday. The fire brigade said one of them, in a forest near Megara, west of Athens, had already been extinguished.

A fire also broke out on Sunday, including in a forest area in the town of Filiates, in the region bordering Albania. As reported by the Protothema portal, firefighters are extinguishing the fire primarily from the air, because the area is difficult due to the minefield located there.