Greece fires: Athens seaside town evacuated as strong winds spread deadly fire

In the wake of the 2023 wildfires in Greece, our travel correspondent Simon Calder writes:

British travellers must reappraise their travel preferences. Extreme heat appears to be becoming a feature of some Mediterranean countries, especially in July and August.

Doing what we have always done, summer after summer, is not necessarily the correct answer.

If temperatures continue to rise, a more northerly destination will be more appropriate and less environmentally damaging. A wide range of holiday locations are unlikely to encounter extreme heat, for example:

• British seaside resorts.
• Overseas nations close to the UK including Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
• The Baltic coast of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Curiously, weather-informed choice already happens in the reverse direction. UK holidaymakers are famously responsive to wet British summers.

If it rains relentlessly from June to September, tour operators know to expect strong bookings for overseas holidays for the following summer.

Greece’s worst wildfire this year continued to spread into the Athens suburbs on Monday evening after first igniting on Sunday afternoon, forcing hundreds of people to flee homes and hospitals.

Tourists on the hills around the Acropolis watched as smoke spread over the busy city.

A warning has been issued to anyone near affected areas to exercise caution when leaving the house due to the density of the smoke. Power cuts were reported in several parts of the capital, now thick with the smell of burning.

The fire was burning in a wide arc on the capital’s northeastern fringes, sending a blanket of smoke over central Athens on Sunday. There has been no disruption reported at Athens airports where those landing and taking off could see a wall of smoke darkening the sky on Monday morning.

Rich Booth reports from Athens:

More than 700 firefighters, backed by 27 special wildfire teams, and armed forces personnel were battling the flames overnight.

Around 190 vehicles, 17 water-dropping planes and 16 helicopters were also deployed to the affected areas.

The wildfire raced through pine forests left tinder-dry by repeated heat waves this summer.

June and July were the hottest months ever recorded in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter ever. An early start of the fire season this year has strained Greece’s firefighting force

“Firefighters have been working at full tilt for months,” said Nikos Lavranos, head of Greece’s main firefighters’ union. “They are exhausted.”

Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said earlier Monday it was “an exceptionally dangerous fire, which we have been fighting for more than 20 hours under dramatic circumstances.”

Some areas burning on Mount Pendeli were particularly hard to reach, he added.

A blanket of smoke and ash shrouded central Athens while power cuts hit parts of the Greek capital and affected traffic lights at major central junctions.

Authorities said at least 18 people were injured, mostly due to smoke inhalation as the blaze reached outlying sections of a suburb.

Athens hospitals continue to be on heightened alert as paramedics and ambulances treat five firefighters for light burns and breathing problems, and at least 13 civilians.

The Athens Medical Association warned those with chronic conditions, the elderly, pregnant women, children and those with respiratory and heart problems to be extra cautious.

Serious forest fire is raging out of control on the outskirts of the Greek capital and tourists are being evacuated in the suburbs of Athens.

Traveling to Greece has not been officially advised against but holidaymakers who have booked a trip to the capital should contact their travel provider for guidance.

Flights are continuing normally for now at Athens airport: smoke can be seen from planes taking off, our travel correspondent Simon Calder writes.

The standard approach for arriving aircraft has been to loop around to the south of Athens, over the Saronic Gulf, and land from southwest to northeast.

Departing aircraft are taking off normally over the Petalioi Gulf. There is no immediate threat to the airport as the area surrounding it is partly built up, and the open land has very little vegetation.

Three flights from London Heathrow landed at Eleftherios Venizelos in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and several more are under way: easyJet from London Gatwick, Ryanair from Luton and Jet2 from Manchester.

Jet2 is telling passengers: “We are aware of the wildfires affecting an area of Athens and are monitoring the situation closely.

“As it currently stands, Athens airport is still open and we are planning to operate our flights as planned. Please allow extra time for your journey to the airport, as there may be road closures in place.”

Wildfires are frequent in the Mediterranean country during its hot, dry summers, but authorities have said climate change is fueling bigger and more frequent blazes.

In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on the roads as they tried to flee in their cars.

More than 100 people died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.

Last year, wildfires in Greece killed more than 20 people, including 18 migrants who became trapped by the flames as they trekked through a forest in northeastern Greece and were caught by a massive blaze that burned for more than two weeks.