Firefighters in Greece were hoping to contain a wildfire on the outskirts of Athens on Tuesday that is burning for a fifth day, with easing winds enabling the use of vital aircraft.
“Today, more than 30 aircraft will be deployed in the area,” enabling access to difficult mountain terrain, fire department deputy spokesperson Yiannis Artopios told state TV ERT.
Over 500 firefighters were deployed in villages around Mount Kithairon, some 60 kilometres northwest of the capital according to the fire service.
“We want to keep the fire in a controlled situation,” Artopios said.
Large areas affected by the fire still contained active or smouldering hotspots requiring constant monitoring, as even a strong gust of wind could trigger fresh outbreaks, the spokesperson said.
“It’s a huge area and there could be a flareup again at any moment,” he said.
The greater Athens area and the neighbouring island of Evia remained under near maximum fire risk on Tuesday according to the civil protection ministry.
The wildfires have claimed the lives of five firefighters since last week.
On Sunday, two Bell helicopters collided while operating on the western outskirts of Athens, killing a Danish pilot and his Greek co-pilot.
Three other firefighters died in Crete and the Peloponnese last week.
Other fires across the country, including one on the Ionian island of Cephalonia, had largely been contained, the Greek fire service said.
“I would say that it is definitely one of the worst fire crises I’ve seen in the past, maybe eight to 10 years,” Theodore Giannaros, a senior wildfire meteorologist at the National Observatory, told the AFP news agency.
Winds at the end of July were the strongest in 15 years, the observatory has said, adding that more than 13,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land have been affected in the fire near Athens, which broke out on Friday.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has warned that Greece faces “extremely difficult” days ahead as high temperatures and dry conditions continue to fuel fires.
Like much of the Mediterranean, Greece has experienced increasingly frequent and intense wildfires that scientists link to climate change.
Additional sources • AFP