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Villages evacuated in Evia blaze, several wildfires rage in Greece

Fire fighters have been struggling on Saturday against a series of wildfires and forest fires in central and southern mainland as well as on the island of Evia. Several villages have been ordered to evacuate.

High temperatures, dry weather conditions and strong winds blowing with intensity 6-7 Beaufort and locally up to 8 B have facilitate the fires to spread quickly and get out of control.

Four fires, all in areas of dried grass, were burning simultaneously in different locations in the western Attica towns of Elefsina and Aspropyrgos on Saturday, while a forest fire in Varnavas, in the northeast of Attica was still raging unchecked.

The traffic police had closed roads to Western Attica and to the Varnava area, while fire brigade forces were constantly on the move to prevent the fires spreading.

Strong fire-fighting forces have managed to contain and control a fire that broke out in Fytoko, on the outskirts of the city of Volos on Saturday afternoon. The fire started north of the Thessaly University School of Agriculture, above the Volos bypass, and quickly spread due to the dry conditions, threatening residential areas.

Some livestock was reportedly trapped in a fenced plot of land have been burnt, as well as a shed and a prefabricated home. The fire was reported under partial control by 15:30 and local residents are in a safe location.

A large fire broke out on Saturday in a forest at Nea Styra, in the Karystos area on the island of Evia. The cause of the fire is not yet known. The fire front was successfully diverted away from Nea Styra.

Residents of Nimporio in Evia received emergency messages via 112 and started to evacuate the village by the time the first fire-fighting vehicles reached the fire and an evacuation was then ordered for safety reasons.

According to the initial information, the fire very grew quickly and spread to nearby woods close to the settlement due to very strong winds blowing in the area.

In a Live Briefing on Saturday afternoon, Head of Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias said that there were 51 forest fires on Saturday and another 52 a day earlier.

The Civil Protection warns of Very High Risk of wild- and forest fires also on Sunday, July 11, 2021.

 

Regions were citizens should be in high alert are:

Attica, Evia, Viotia, Argolida, Fthiotida, Corinth, Crete, Lesvos, Samos, Ikaria, Chios, Psara

Fire Service phone line: 199

*thumbnail via evianews

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