Firefighters are battling blazes in over 70 locations across Greece, facing strong winds that have fanned dozens of fires throughout the country. These wildfires have broken out on multiple fronts, stretching from the central part of the country to the island of Crete.
In the areas surrounding Athens, evacuation orders were issued on Friday and Saturday for suburbs and coastal settlements to the west and northwest. One specific blaze broke out around 3:30 p.m. Friday on the slopes of Mount Poikilo in the Aspropyrgos area, prompting an emergency alert. High winds of approximately 50 miles per hour have hampered water-bombing aircraft as firefighters struggle to contain flames that have burned houses.
While some fires in other parts of Greece have been brought under control, the risk of new outbreaks remains very high. This wildfire threat is expanding across Europe, with heat and wind forcing evacuations from Greece to the UK. Meanwhile, conditions have fluctuated in France and Spain, where authorities initially saw some respite after bringing major blazes under control before conditions worsened again.