Greek wildfire rages near Athens, residential areas evacuated , 9 sept 2020.mp4

Published on 9 Sep 2020
Greek wildfire rages near Athens, residential areas evacuated , 9 sept 2020



ATHENS (Reuters) - A wildfire fanned by strong winds forced the evacuation of a boarding school and six residential areas southeast of Athens on Wednesday, Greece’s fire brigade said.

The settlement of Feriza and five more areas about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Athens have been evacuated, a fire brigade official said. Earlier, about 30 children were transferred from the boarding school to a nearby hotel.

There were unconfirmed reports of damaged homes in the area, a local mayor told state TV.

At least 114 firefighters supported by 35 fire engines, five aircraft and eight helicopters battled the blaze, which broke out around midday.

“We were burning, trying to put out the flames with buckets of water, we couldn’t breathe,” one local resident told state TV ERT, adding that police had evacuated them.

Thick, dark smoke blanketed the area and state TV showed residents prior to their evacuation using garden hoses to water the ground to help protect their properties.