Fire near Athens claims life, forces mass evacuations
At least one person has died, and 18 others have been affected primarily by smoke due to the fire that has been raging near Athens since Sunday. The fire service reported that the fire in northeastern Attica no longer has a single front; firefighters are battling its scattered hotspots.
Due to the fire threat, residents of parts of the coastal city of Nea Makri were called to evacuate early in the morning.
Meteorological services estimated that by Monday afternoon, the fire had covered an area of approximately 39 square miles, classifying it as a "mega-fire." In the most distant points of the firefront, the blaze was recorded 9 miles from the city centre and the Acropolis.
First casualty
The charred body of a woman was found in a building in the city of Vrilissia, located in the northern part of Greater Athens, which is the Athens metropolitan area, according to the fire brigade. The Protothema portal reported that the body was found in the bathroom, where the 62-year-old woman had tried to hide from the fire.
This year's most serious fire in Greece broke out on Sunday afternoon in the vicinity of Warnavas, 22 miles northeast of Athens, and quickly spread towards the Athenian suburbs. From the area threatened by the fire, police rescued over 250 people.
Several towns were evacuated, including patients and staff from three hospitals. According to the media, dozens of houses and cars were burned down. The fire also engulfed high-voltage power lines, leading to power problems in some districts of Athens.
The media drew attention to the high dust concentration in the air in Attica after the fire broke out. People suffering from respiratory diseases are particularly at risk from this dust.
On Tuesday, there is a very high fire risk in three regions: Attica, parts of the island of Euboea, and Boeotia.
