Firefighters continue to fight on Tuesday, for the second day in a row, against the forest fires declared near Athens, while many residents were evacuated from the coastal areas affected by the heat wave that hits Greece.
“Our main concern is the protection of human life,” firefighter spokesman Yannis Artopios told a news conference on Tuesday morning.
The most violent front of the fire was located on Tuesday in the Dervenochoria forest, 50 km north of Athens, where 140 firefighters were deployed, supported by six water bombers and a helicopter, Artopios said.
In the coastal area of Kouvaras, 40 km from Athens – where the fire broke out on Monday and, pushed by strong winds, reached the neighboring towns of Anavyssos and Lagonissi – many residents abandoned their homes, obeying the authorities’ call to get away from the area.
Several houses were set on fire, according to images broadcast by the public television channel ERT.