Greece grappling with 56 active fire fronts
Greece’s civil defense chief said that there are 56 active fire fronts in different parts of the country right now and that a massive wildfire in northern Athens has crossed both sides of the national highway to Lamia and is threatening villages and towns on the eastern foothills of Mount Parnitha.
“The fire has crossed over to Marathon Lake and is running very hot,” Nikos Hardalias told a press briefing.
“We are making every possible effort,” he added, warning that winds in Attica are expected to pick up to speeds as high as 6 Beaufort in the next few hours, posing an even greater hazard.
Regarding the fire near Ancient Olympia in the region of Ilia in the Peloponnese, Hardalias said that 32 villages and communities have been evacuated and more than 300 firefighters deployed.
He also described the ongoing blaze in northern Evia as having grown to “dangerous dimensions,” saying that the main fronts have broken up and headed off to different directions across uneven terrain.
More than 240 firefighters have been dispatched to Evia, Hardalias said, adding that more air support is also on the way.
