Greek capital on high alert as forest fire flames as high as 80 feet approach Athens

Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Greek authorities battling wildfires threatening the capital, Athens, ordered people in seven northern suburbs and a children's hospital to evacuate.

The fire service said it had issued instructions via phone and text for the residents of Nea Penteli, Palia Penteli, Drafi, Dioni, Damarasi, Daou Pentelis and Agios Spyridonas, along with staff and patients of the Penteli Children's and 414 Military hospitals, to be moved to safety .

People in Anthousa, 9 miles northeast of downtown Athens, were put on notice to prepare for possible evacuation with other branches of the fire threatening New Makri, a town of about 17,000 people further to the east on the other side of Penteli Mountain and Grammatiko, south of the where the blaze started.

A third front was also said to be gathering strength at Kallitechnoupoli, 14 miles east of downtown Athens.

Two monasteries were also evacuated as hundreds of firefighters, more than 180 vehicles and 32 aircraft battled the flames. Television crews filmed flames getting dangerously close to houses as helicopters dumped fire retardants to try to arrest their advance.

The fire has been advancing rapidly southward toward Athens since breaking out at Varnavas early Sunday, 22 miles northeast of the city, fanned by strong winds and temperatures in the mid-30s Celsius that are forecast to edge close to 40 degrees Celsius in coming days.

Houses in Varnavas were reported to have been set alight by the blaze while Athens was reported to be very hot with the smell of burning in the air beneath a smoke-darkened sky.

Strong winds throughout Sunday night created dangerous conditions and with wind intensity expected to increase in the coming hours, Fire Services spokesman Vasilis Vathrakogiannis urged residents of areas where the fire is burning to heed instructions from authorities for their own safety and well-being.

However, the BBC reported that some local residents were refusing to leave their homes in order to try to protect their properties.

Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vasilis Kikilias said 670 fire-fighters, 27 forest commando units, 183 vehicles, 17 airplanes and 15 helicopters were deployed to fight the fires, while wind speeds remained high at 7 on the Beaufort Scale -- 32-38 mph -- and were forecast to remain at those levels for the next few hours.

Flames were reported to be as high as 80 feet.

"Since yesterday afternoon, the residents of northeastern Attica have been tested by an extremely dangerous fire, which we have been fighting for more than 20 hours in extremely difficult conditions due to the strong winds and extended drought and the very rough and inaccessible terrain in a dense, unburnt forest," said Kikilias.

The fires around Athens are among 40 that have ignited across the country in the past 24 hours with firefighters battling some of the blazes after Greece saw its hottest June and July since modern record-keeping began in 1960.