(12 Aug 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nea Makri, northeast of Athens – 12 August 2024
1. Pull out from flames to huge plume of smoke rising on mountainside close to homes
2. Flames
3. Firefighting helicopter approaching blaze
4. Wide of homes with smoke rising
5. Helicopter dousing fire
6. Wide of fire
7. Helicopter approaching flames
8. Pull out from smoke to homes
9. Helicopter dousing fire
STORYLINE:
A major forest fire was raging out of control on the northern fringes of the Greek capital Monday, triggering numerous evacuation orders for Athens suburbs and outlying areas as strong winds hampered the efforts of hundreds of firefighters and dozens of water-dropping aircraft.
The blaze that began Sunday afternoon was racing through pine forests left tinder-dry by repeated heat waves this summer.
June and July of this year were the hottest months ever recorded in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter ever.
The fire department said 670 firefighters, backed by 27 teams specially trained to tackle wildfires and including more than 80 armed forces personnel, were battling the flames.
More than 180 vehicles were deployed, while 17 water-dropping planes and 15 helicopters were providing aerial support.
A children’s hospital, a military hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated early Monday, while evacuation orders, sent by push alerts to mobile phones starting Sunday and continuing throughout the night into Monday, were issued for more than a dozen areas, including Marathon and several Athens suburbs.
Three Athens hospitals were put on heightened alert to treat any potential injuries.
Local media reported two firefighters were slightly injured, while several civilians were treated in hospitals for smoke inhalation. Several homes were burned, although the exact number was not immediately clear.
Greece’s coast guard ordered all ferries going to and from the nearby port of Rafina, which serves mainly the Cycladic islands and Crete, to be diverted to the port of Lavrion due to the fire.
Authorities in nearby suburbs opened at least one sports hall and were providing rooms in hotels for evacuees, while yet more suburbs were put on standby for potential evacuation.
The police department said 380 police officers with 77 vehicles, 36 motorcycles, three buses and four vans were assisting in the evacuations, and by mid-morning had helped move more than 250 people away from the path of the flames.
It posted a video on its social media channels showing police officers carrying elderly people in their arms out of houses and to waiting vehicles, against a backdrop of a night sky turned red from the flames and smoke.
The fire was burning in a wide arc on the capital’s northeastern fringes, sending a blanket of smoke over central Athens on Sunday, darkening the sky.
It began Sunday afternoon about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Athens and was fanned by strong winds that quickly drove it out of control. Authorities said flames at times towered more than 25 meters (80 feet) in height.
Meteorologists and government officials have warned of the heightened danger of wildfires because of weather conditions from Sunday until Thursday, with half of the country placed under a “red alert” for wildfire hazard.
The fire department appealed to residents to follow evacuation orders issued by civil protection, with authorities noting that some people who had refused to leave their homes later became trapped and required rescuing, endangering the lives of firefighters.
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