Wildfire near Athens, Greece leaves 8 injured

On the afternoon of August 11, 2024 local time, affected by the combined influence of dry, hot and strong wind weather, a wildfire broke out near the Greek capital Athens and spread rapidly. By the evening, the Athens urban area was shrouded in smoke from the wildfire. According to preliminary statistics, this wildfire has injured 8 people.

The Greek fire department said that at around 15:00 local time on the 11th, a fire broke out in the Varnavas area, 35 kilometers northeast of the Athens urban area. Due to the dry and strong wind weather, the fire spread rapidly towards the Marathon Lake. The fire department has dispatched 110 fire trucks, 29 aircraft and approximately 400 firefighters to fight the fire. However, due to the erratic strong wind direction in the area, it has caused great difficulties for the firefighting work and the fire is not yet under control.

Due to the rampant wildfire, the Greek authorities ordered the evacuation of the Marathon town, the birthplace of the Marathon race, on the evening of the 11th. The Greek Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection said that after evacuating six other settlements in the area, the residents of Marathon town were asked to move to the neighboring Nea Makri settlement. According to information provided by Greek health ministry officials, 8 people have been transferred to hospitals for treatment, mainly with breathing problems.

Greek meteorological experts said that as the wind in the area where the fire occurred reached level 8, the smoke has spread to about 100 kilometers away from the fire site. According to statistics, there have been more than 2,000 wildfires across Greece since the beginning of summer this year. The Greek government said that due to the continuous hot and dry weather, the country is facing the most serious wildfire threat in 20 years. Due to the severe impact of the wildfires, several municipalities on the largest Greek island of Crete have declared a state of emergency from August 7 to September 9.

After the wildfire broke out, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ended his vacation early and returned to Athens on the evening of the 11th to handle matters related to the wildfire.