Athens : Greece’s worst wildfire of the year killed one woman and continued to burn on the outskirts of the capital Athens on Tuesday, although lighter winds and firefighting efforts helped reduce its intensity, authorities said.
Hundreds of firefighters backed by six waterbombing aircraft battled the blaze that broke out on Sunday near the village of Varnavas 35 km (20 miles) north of Athens.
Stoked by gale-force winds, the blaze leapt from a wooded, hilly area into the suburbs on Monday, torching homes and stirring panic in neighbourhoods that had not seen such a fire so close to the centre in decades.
It reached Vrilissia, around 14 km (8 miles) from central Athens, a day ago, where a 64-year-woman was found dead inside a factory, witnesses said on Tuesday.
The cause of the wildfire was not yet determined.
Pockets of fire remained around northern Athens, but the fierce blazes seen on Monday had subsided and the thick smoke that covered central Athens had mostly lifted.
“There is no active front, but scattered outbreaks,” Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said in a televised statement.
However, gales were expected to pick up again later on Tuesday and the country will remain on high fire alert until Thursday, with strong winds and temperatures forecast to reach up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
“The overall picture looks improved but there are still many fronts in various areas,” said a fire brigade official.
Wildfires have been a common feature of Greek summers for years – its deadliest wildfire killed 104 people in the seaside town of Mati, near the capital, in 2018. But climate change has brought hotter weather and less rain, ideal conditions for large-scale fires.
The southern European country experienced its warmest winter on record this year and was on track for its hottest summer, with scant rain in many areas for months.
