Greek officials evacuate residents as wildfire moves ‘like lightning’

Firefighters are battling to contain a massive blaze moving “like lightning” on the outskirts of Athens, with authorities evacuating people from towns, villages and hospitals as flames rip through trees, homes and cars.

Propelled by gale-force winds, the wildfire tore towards residential areas of the Greek capital on Monday, leaving a trail of destruction behind it as officials ordered people to flee.

Late in the day, despite the “superhuman” efforts of forest commandos and an army of volunteers to bring the fires under control, the inferno had reached the city’s northern suburbs, threatening the premises of the national observatory on a hill in Penteli.

Residents, some wearing masks, could be seen with buckets, hoses and even olive branches desperately trying to douse flames as they encroached on homes. In a statement the observatory’s meteorological service said the fast-moving blaze was “threatening important facilities, technologies and years of research efforts.”

Greece’s climate crisis and civil protection minister said firefighters were struggling in “dramatic conditions” that had been exacerbated by a prolonged drought.

On the frontline of the climate emergency, the Mediterranean nation has experienced an exceptionally hot and dry year. On Monday it called for help in tackling the fire from other EU countries, with assistance expected from France, Italy, the Czech Republic and Romania.

“Its an extremely dangerous fire that we’ve been battling for over 20 hours in dramatic conditions because of the very strong winds and prolonged dryness,” the minister, Vassilis Kikilias, told reporters.

More than 670 firefighters, backed by 17 waterbombing planes, 15 helicopters and trucks, were trying to bring the fire under control and forces were being “continually reinforced”, he said.

“Right now the battle is being waged on two fronts: one in the area of Kallitechnoupoli and the other in [the village of] Grammatiko,” Kikilias said. “We will continue with all our might until it is brought under control and the last front is put out.”

At least 25 areas, including the ancient town of Marathon, across the stricken Attica region were forced to evacuate residents.

The mayor of Marathon, Stergios Tsirkas, said the town, which gave its name to the long-distance race that was held at the weekend at the Paris Olympics, was facing a “biblical catastrophe”. “Our whole town is engulfed in flames and going through difficult times,” he told the Skai television channel.

The Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, cut short his summer break on Crete to return to Athens and oversee the response in a nation where memories of the 104 people who died in wildfires at the seaside resort of Mati six years ago remain strong.

The fire began in the vicinity of Varnava, a village about 20 miles north-east of Athens, sending gigantic clouds of ash smoke billowing over the capital.

From the outset, firefighting efforts were hampered by strong winds. At least half of the country was under a “red alert” – the highest level of extreme fire risk in the country’s five-tier system.

A fire brigade spokesperson, Vassileios Vathrakogiannis, said on Sunday that flames fanned by the gusts were up to 25 metres (80ft) high. The winds were constantly changing the course of the fires, hampering efforts to bring them under control.

With the strong winds showing no sign of abating, meteorologists predicted the days ahead would be critical.

Health officials urged residents in the region to limit their movements and stay inside , saying the thick smoke had seriously affected air quality across the Attica basin. By mid-afternoon on Sunday, within hours of the blaze erupting, the skies above the Greek parliament in central Syntagma Square had turned a yellowish brown as ash clouds were blown southward. Greek media reported people being taken to hospital with respiratory problems.

Unprecedented temperatures – June and July were the hottest on record – after the warmest winter on record have resulted in wildfires becoming increasingly common and intense in Greece. In a first, this summer the country registered a week-long heatwave before mid-June, a sign of the accelerated pace at which the climate is breaking down, environmentalists said.

Meteorologists believe 2024 will be the hottest Greek summer on record.

At least 10 tourists, including the British TV presenter Michael Mosley, died earlier this summer from heat exhaustion after walking in blistering temperatures . Mosley is believed to have succumbed to the heat two hours after he set off on a walk from a beach on the remote island of Symi in temperatures topping 40C.