Sawt Falasteen - Greece on high alert as heat and wind fuel fire outbreaks

Thousands of tourists and locals were meanwhile forced to flee hotels and guesthouses in a resort on the popular island of Crete.

Hot, dry weather -- not unusual for this time of year -- has heightened the risk of summer fires and scientists say human-driven climate change is making them more frequent and more intense.

The latest fire broke out in the municipality of Koropi, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of Athens, fanned by strong gusts.

It quickly spread through the area, which includes homes surrounded by dense vegetation and extends to the shores of the Aegean Sea, and residents were ordered by text message to evacuate.

Fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyannis said some 800 people had left their homes, as the flames "quickly grew to dangerous proportions" because of the wind, with several outbreaks.

Roads on the outskirts of Athens were closed to traffic.

Public television channel ERT broadcast images of fire damage to houses, olive groves and undergrowth.

By late afternoon, a fire department official told AFP that the situation appeared "improved" but added "there remain some scattered clusters".

"Operations are ongoing, mainly to control small outbreaks," he told reporters.

In all, 120 firefighters were deployed, with 30 engines, eight planes and the same number of helicopters, fire service spokesman Vathrakoyannis said.

A coastguard vessel was patrolling nearby.

Concerns remain for the coming days, particularly Saturday, when temperatures are due to rise to above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Greece had until now been generally spared the heatwave roasting parts of Europe, particularly Spain, Portugal and France over recent days.

- High risk -

Among the most threatened regions were Attica, in the Athens region, which is home to more than four million people, as well as the northern part of the second-largest Greek island Euboea.

In the past 24 hours, 47 agricultural and forest fires have broken out, most of which have been contained.

Firefighters earlier managed to bring under control a separate fire which had on Thursday threatened the port of Rafina, around 20 kilometres northeast of Koropi, after some 300 local people were evacuated from their homes.

Fire crews remained on alert, as the Rafina wildfire was not far from Athens International Airport and winds still posed a threat.

The blaze destroyed a several houses and vehicles, local mayor Dimitris Markou told ERT.

It also disrupted ferries to and from tourist islands in the western Aegean, including Mykonos.

On the island of Crete, around 230 firefighters, 48 fire engines and six helicopters remained at the scene near the resort town of Ierapetra, even though the blaze was receding.

Some 3,000 visitors had been forced to leave their hotels and guest houses on Wednesday evening and 2,000 local residents were also evacuated, authorities said.

"The fire is retreating," Vathrakoyannis told AFP.

"There are still fears of flare-ups but there is no longer a major front," he added.

Scattered hot spots still remained and firefighters were dealing with several smoke-filled areas from which flare-ups had restarted, the fire department told the ANA press agency.

Weakening winds in the hard-to-reach area had improved the situation, firefighters said, although a fire brigade spokesperson had warned overnight of some "difficult" days ahead.

Last month, fires on Greece's fifth-biggest island Chios, in the northern Aegean, destroyed 4,700 hectares (11,600 acres) of land, according to the WWF and the National Observatory of Athens research institute.

The most destructive year for wildfires was 2023, when nearly 175,000 hectares were lost and there were 20 deaths.

T.Ibrahim--SF-PST