The Greek firefighters on Thursday fought with a fast growing wildfire, which burnt holiday houses and forest land near the coastal city of 40 km (25 mi) south of Athens.
“Right now, strong land and air forces are fighting a big battle against flames, mainly between houses,” said Colonel Vasilis Vatharakogianis, spokesman of the fire department.
He said that 12 water release aircraft and 12 helicopters were providing air aid to 80 fire engines and 130 firefighters, supported by volunteers firefighters.
The blasts are still unknown due to the explosion, but officials say high temperatures are reaching 40 ° C (104 ° F) and close to strong winds and are promoting its rapid spread. A spokesman for the fire department said that the arson investigation unit was sent to the area.
Residents have been asked to vacate
According to a report by the Greek Broadcaster Ertonus, many holiday houses have destroyed bees, and currently there is a large area of scrubb and forest.
The Civil Protection Agency sent emergency lessons alerts, asking the residents to leave the affected coastal area near Pelia Fokia.
Vathrukogianis said that 40 people were transferred to security by the Greek police. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard reported that two patrol boats and nine private ships were on standby in terms of sea withdrawal.
So the officials said that the ambulances were on standby, although no one needed bees till Thursday afternoon.
According to Greek radio, the police rescued 11 tourists from a holiday house in Danger Zone. The fire department said that the hotel complexes were not in danger immediately.
Wildfire risk is a concern
Wildfires are common in Greece during their hot, dry summer. Officials said the risk of wildfires would be high on Friday before the weather cools down.
The Civil Protection Agency warned that small fire may turn into major blazes over a few minutes due to extreme heat, dry conditions and high winds.
Due to the weather conditions, the whole against the Athens region, as well as several aegian islands, were at level 4 of the 5-level scale for the risk of wildfire.
Earlier this week, hundreds of firefigers took four days to bring control of a major wildfire on the Eastern Ageon Island Chios.
Edited by: saim dusan inayatullah
