THRAKOMAKEDONES, Greece (AP) — Wildfires rampaged through some of Greece’s last remaining forests for yet another day Saturday, encroaching on more inhabited areas after burning scores of homes, businesses and farms during the country’s worst heat wave in three decades.
One of the massive fires threatened the Greek capital’s most important national park and sent choking smoke across the Athens region, where authorities set up a hotline for residents with breathing problems. Thousands of residents and vacationers in areas where fires broke out days ago have fled by land and by sea.
In apocalyptic scenes overnight and into Saturday morning, ferries evacuated 1,153 people from a seaside village and beaches on Evia, an island of rugged, forested mountains popular with holidaymakers and campers, after approaching flames cut off all other means of escape. People clutched babies and carried elderly people on chairs as they boarded the small ferries to safety.
A local official in in the southern Peloponnese region of Mani, the site of another major fire, estimated that 70% of her area had been destroyed.
“It’s a biblical catastrophe. We’re talking about three-quarters of the municipality,” East Mani Deputy Mayor Drakoulakou told state broadcaster ERT, pleading for more support from water-dropping aircraft.
Fires described as the worst in decades also have swept through stretches of neighboring Turkey’s southern coast for the past 10 days, killing eight people. The top Turkish forestry official said 217 fires had been brought under control since July 28 in over half of the country’s provinces, while firefighters continued working Saturday to tame six fires in two provinces.
In Greece, the fire that broke out north of Athens killed a volunteer firefighter Friday. At least 20 people have been injured in blazes nationwide. The multiple fires have stretched the country’s firefighting forces to the limit as crews tackled the constant rekindling of several of the blazes, including the large fire burning outside of the capital.
The Greek government appealed for help through the European Union’s emergency support system. Firefighters and aircraft have arrived from France, Ukraine, Cyprus, Croatia, Sweden and Israel, with more arriving Saturday from Romania and Switzerland. Egypt said Saturday it was sending two helicopters to Greece.
Greek Civil Protection chief Nikos Hardalias, speaking during a Friday evening briefing, said firefighters faced “exceptionally dangerous, unprecedented conditions” as they battled 154 wildfires this week, with 64 still burning into the night.
“Over the past few days, we have been facing a situation without precedent in our country, in the intensity and wide distribution of the wildfires, and the new outbreaks all over (Greece),” he said. “I want to assure you that all forces available are taking part in the fight.”
The country has been baked by its most protracted heat wave in 30 years, with temperatures soaring to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). Temperatures eased Friday, but winds picked up, further exacerbating the situation.
Evacuation orders for villages and neighborhoods have been constant, sent by push alerts to mobile phones in affected areas, while police and firefighters have gone door-to-door urging people to leave homes in the path of the flames.
On Friday, shifting winds and new flashpoints caused the blazes to the north of Athens and on Evia to repeatedly change direction, in some cases returning to threaten areas that had narrowly escaped destruction earlier in the week.
After burning through forests and houses towards Lake Marathon, the capital’s main water reservoir, a branch of the fire moved into the Mount Parnitha national park. The park, one of the last remaining substantial forests near Athens, still bears deep scars from wildfires in 2007.
The 38-year-old volunteer firefighter who died Friday had suffered head injuries after being struck by a falling electricity pole north of Athens. At least 20 people have required treatment nationwide, including two firefighters hospitalized in intensive care.
Authorities urged Athens residents to wear masks outdoors and to close windows in their homes due to the dense smoke clouding the capital . They also set up the free information for anxious callers to seek information about breathing difficulties.
The causes of the fires are under investigation. Hardalias said three people were arrested Friday — in the greater Athens area, central and southern Greece — on suspicion of starting blazes, in two cases intentionally. Police said the suspect detained north of Athens had allegedly lit fires at three separate spots in the area ravaged by the large blaze, which first broke out Tuesday.
Greek and European officials also have blamed climate change for a large number of summer fires burning through southern Europe, from southern Italy to the Balkans, Greece and Turkey.
In Turkey’s seaside province of Mugla, most fires appeared to be under control Saturday morning. While the latest government information from after midnight said there were still eight fires in the area, municipalities in Marmaris and wider Mugla province said cooling efforts were ongoing in areas where fires were brought under control.
Municipal officials in Antalya, on the Turkish Mediterranean, said a fire continued around the Eynif plain where teams of wild horses live. Fires in Manavgat, where fires raged for days, were reported to be under control.
In Italy, firefighters battling a wildfire in Reggio Calabria province found the bodies of a man and a woman in an olive grove. Italian news agency LaPresse said Friday the two died of smoke inhalation.
Massive fires also have been burning across Siberia in Russia’s north for weeks, while hot, bone-dry, gusty weather has also fueled devastating wildfires in California.
