The Greek weather service has warned of a high risk of fires this week, just as the country recovers from the first major heat wave of the summer. A second heat wave is expected to begin on Thursday.
“The conditions are extreme, and they are likely to be for another week,” Kostas Tsigas, head of the fire brigade association, told Greek channel SKAI TV.
The fire, which broke out on Monday in the Dervenochoria region, some 30 kilometers north of Athens, spread rapidly, fanned by erratic winds, and reached Mandra on Tuesday, razing houses and forcing people to flee.
Fires in Switzerland and Spain
On Tuesday, Swiss firefighters were battling a wildfire that has forced more than 200 people to evacuate. The authorities of this country have warned that the winds are making it more difficult to contain the flames.
The fire broke out Monday on a wooded mountainside in Bitsch, in the canton of Valais, near the Italian border. Helicopters flew overhead throughout the night to drop water on the flames.
It could take days or weeks to completely put out the fire, which has spread to 100 hectares of forest, said Mario Schaller, who is in charge of firefighting operations.
As of Wednesday, militia soldiers were called in to detect the smoldering fires. The Swiss Army had already sent a helicopter to support the efforts of the firefighters.