A wildfire killed at least one person and burned houses and farmland in a town outside Athens yesterday as Greek firemen struggled to contain a series of blazes at the start of what is forecast to be several days of gale-force winds.
Eleven planes, 12 helicopters and 170 firemen were deployed around Keratea, 30km southwest of the capital, and residents were called to evacuate, the fire brigade said.
Much of the area has seen barely a drop of rain in months. Wind gusts of up to 80kmph fanned the fire, setting olive tree orchards alight. Images on local media showed houses engulfed in flames.
Firemen discovered the body of an elderly man in a burned-out structure in Keratea, Greek Fire Brigade Spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said during a briefing “The fire is advancing. In some places only aerial firefighting is being possible,” Yiannis Schizas, a member of the Civil Protection in the area, told SKAI TV.
“There is too much wind. It is becoming a mess,” he said.
High winds are expected through the weekend and beyond. In the touristy island of Kefalonia, in western Greece, a wildfire was out of control, burning forests and farm land, authorities and local media said.
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