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.
Greece often experiences wildfires during its dry summer months. Temperatures have remained high for the season, and authorities warned this week of a high risk of blazes.
A forest fire was also burning on Wednesday near the seaside town of Nea Makri, northeast of Athens, the fire brigade said.
Separately, fires broke out early on Wednesday in a migrant camp on the island of Lesbos, destroying tents and containers and leaving thousands of people without shelter.
(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Gareth Jones)
