A wildfire broken out in Parnitha mountain, in the area of Katsimidi, in north-western Attica short before 3 o’ clock on Saturday. Strong northern winds blowing with intensity of 7 Beaufort and gusts up to 9B have broken the fire front into two, one heading in the west and south and one in the east.
Over 100 firefighters with 30 engines and dozens of volunteers and water tanks from several municipalities are struggling to combat the blaze.
More firefighting forces are expected to arrive from Thessaly, Epirus and Central Macedonia.
Το 1 και ΜΟΝΑΔΙΚΟ Ε/Π εδώ και 45' που καίγεται η Πάρνηθα pic.twitter.com/bctX3zGteN
— RealPolitik (@machiavelli_gr) June 29, 2024
12 aerial means, that is 4 water-dropping aircraft and 8 helicopters operate from the air. the heavy smoke emerging from the burning area does not make the work of pilots easy.
The smoke has reached not only the Acropolis, some 40 km away but also the south suburbs of Greek capital Athens.
The fire is burning low vegetation and pine trees and also forest areas full of inflammable material form the wildfires of 2007, 2020, 2021 and 2023.
The forest area on fire is not easily accessible as there are no roads in in some areas not even paths.
Residential areas are currently ( 5:35 p.m. local time) not at risk, however, the Civil Protection sent already sms via emergency line <112> warning citizens to be ready to evacuate in case it is considered necessary.
Police has strictly prohibits access to the area and has diverted traffic in Malakasa and AgiouMercuriou Road, in Ippokratous and Tyrtaiou Street, in Tatoiou Avenue and the Varybobi bridge.
🔥Πυρκαγιά Παρνηθας.Εικόνα από κεραίες Υμηττού τώρα .
Αποκλειστικό video για το meteo24news Gersimos Elenis#πυρκαγιά #Πάρνηθα #φωτιά #φωτιές #meteo24news pic.twitter.com/kdQdyV5Kny— Meteo24news.gr (@Meteonews_gr) June 29, 2024
While neither the Civil Protection and Environment minister nor the Fire Service has made any statements about the causes of the wildfire, citizens who were in the area posted on social media that they heard several explosions from electricity poles.
These claims have not been confirmed, so far.
In a short statement at 6:23 pm, Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said that there was currently no “active fire front.”
Parnitha is the last ‘lung’ left for residents of Athens and Attica to breathe.
sources: ert.gr, skai tv, newsit.gr, protothema.gr, documento.gr
