Greek firefighters are fighting the fires that broke out today in Keratea, Ritsona and Stamata, ANA-MPA agency reported, quoted by NOVA.
Greek firefighting forces were further reinforced today and are still battling the blaze in Keratea, south of Athens. More than 140 firefighters and 17 firefighting aircraft are involved in the operations, sources from the Civil Defense services said.
They noted that the fire was not just on one front, but had four separate sources of fire, and fire crews were working to constantly pour water from the plane on each fire. They will be joined by six air tractors that took off from Tatoi Airport today.
Strong winds hampered efforts to extinguish the fire, with gusts as high as nine on the Beaufort scale, fueled by the amount of low-growing vegetation, mostly dry grass, and uncleared parcels of land.
So far, six settlements have been evacuated and 52 people who were trapped have been rescued and brought to safety, with police taking over the evacuation of dozens of homes.
A fire also broke out today in an industrial area in Ritzona, near a factory. Fire crews from Halkida responded to put it out. A 112 message was sent to people in areas in the path of the smoke to stay indoors and keep doors and windows closed.
Black smoke has filled the sky over Ritzona. The fire there started in a recycling factory and burned various flammable materials that were in the area around it, including tires and mattresses.
Firefighters are deployed along Rizzona's old national road and are battling to prevent the flames from spreading beyond the recycling factory to other factories in the area.
There is also a refugee facility in the area, but it is said to be out of danger as there is no chance of the flames spreading beyond the factory where the fire started.
A forest fire also broke out near houses in Stamata, Attica. A warning has been issued for those living nearby. A team of 22 firefighters in seven vehicles were sent to tackle the blaze, with the help of six firefighting planes and three helicopters.