{"id":314992,"date":"2021-08-03T22:44:51","date_gmt":"2021-08-03T19:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/thick-smoke-over-athens-as-suburbs-battle-wildfires\/"},"modified":"2021-08-03T22:44:51","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T19:44:51","slug":"thick-smoke-over-athens-as-suburbs-battle-wildfires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/thick-smoke-over-athens-as-suburbs-battle-wildfires\/","title":{"rendered":"#Thick smoke over Athens as suburbs battle wildfires"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Thick smoke over Athens as suburbs battle wildfires<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\n The blaze spread at the foot of Mount Parnitha with the fire service telling people to evacuate.
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Hundreds of firefighters, water-bombing planes and helicopters battled forest fires near Athens on Tuesday that saw villages evacuated and part of a major motorway closed, officials said.<\/p>\n


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With the country reeling under a severe heatwave, a blaze spread at the foot of Mount Parnitha, 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Athens, sending thick smoke over the city.<\/p>\n

The fire service said about 300 people had to be evacuated because of the app<\/a>roaching flames. Police reported helping 70 people to escape from homes threatened by fire.<\/p>\n

“Our priority is to save lives hence the decision to evacuate villagers,” Civil Protection Minister Michalis Chryssohoidis told reporters in the evening.<\/p>\n

Local media<\/a> reported dozens of children had been rescued from a holiday camp near the Athens suburb of Varympompi, while the motorway linking the capital with the north and south of the country was cut for safety reasons.<\/p>\n

The fire brigade said seven water-bombing aircraft, five helicopters, 70 fire trucks and more than 500 firefighters were battling the flames in a zone that includes the former Greek royal family’s summer palace of Tatoi and several monasteries.<\/p>\n

“There was no wind,” one resident told the Open TV channel. “How come the firemen couldn’t quickly extinguish the blaze?”<\/p>\n

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\n Police and firefighters have evacuated hundreds of people from suburbs north of Athens.
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NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo said he had called off a planned meeting with fans in his home suburb of Sepolia Tuesday evening because of the fires.<\/p>\n

“We hope there are no casualties. Obviously we have postponed the party in Sepolia,” the Greek-Nigerian tweeted.<\/p>\n

Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias listed 40 active fires on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

‘Coming hours decisive’<\/b><\/p>\n

“We are facing extreme conditions with temperatures around 45 degrees Centigrade (113 Fahrenheit),” he said.<\/p>\n

“The coming hours will be decisive. The heatwave will last, we are asking people to remain vigilant.”<\/p>\n

Experts have warned climate change is increasing both the frequency and intensity of the wildfires.<\/p>\n

“We are facing the worst heatwave since 1987,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said this week.<\/p>\n

In the southern Peloponnese region, 300 kms from the capital, three villages were evacuated after a fire started Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n