Greece: Water bombers deployed as fires near Athens reignite

Wildfires continued to rage near Athens on Monday, with a resurgence of flames in the afternoon despite a lull in the wind and the deployment of a dozen water-bombing aircraft. Firefighters had reported a slight improvement in the situation Monday morning, but the mayor of Megara, a town about 30 kilometers west of the capital and a major fire front, noted a "fire outbreak in the afternoon."

"While the wind has decreased in the region, at Kandyli there are still gusts and currents being created by the hot air rising upwards, and we are observing a fire outbreak," Panagiotis Margetis told AFP. He added that "for now, there are no damages to houses or businesses in Kandyli and Agia Skepi," the two most exposed localities, about 50 km northwest of the capital. However, "the fire is constantly changing direction" and is approaching "the industrial zone of Megara, which is very dangerous," he said.

The fire service press office confirmed Monday afternoon to AFP that "the fire has intensified." But "this is normal, as there are still active hotspots," the same source tempered. Earlier, fire service spokesperson Yannis Artopios had spoken of an "improvement" but said he saw "absolutely no reason to lower our guard." "We remain vigilant on these fronts in Kandyli and Agia Skepi," he stressed.

Théodore Giannaros, a researcher at the Greek National Observatory, described the situation as "undoubtedly one of the worst fire crises we have faced in the last 8 to 10 years." While the winds, which had exceeded 100 km/h at times in recent days, have notably decreased, the expected mercury rise to 37°C on Wednesday could complicate matters. "The fuels will dry out even faster" and "this will make them more flammable than they were at the beginning of June," Giannaros warned.