Forest fires broke out around Athens, the Greek capital, we learned on Monday, July 17, 2023. Fanned by strong winds, against a heatwave background, they led to the evacuation of several seaside areas. Around 1,200 children notably had to leave their holiday camps threatened by fire near Loutraki. A suspect was arrested in the country before being released for lack of evidence.
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Forest fires were declared on Monday several tens of kilometers east and west of Athens. It is some 80 km west of the Greek capital that 1,200 children were evacuated from summer camps threatened by fire, near the seaside resort of Loutraki, near the Isthmus of Corinth. Traffic on the highway linking Athens and Corinth was interrupted for several hours.
By nightfall, the front of this fire extended over 10 kilometers, according to the public television channel ERT. ” We must prevent the fire from crossing the highway and spreading further “, confided the spokesperson for the firefighters, Yannis Artopios.
Nearly 50 km east of Athens this time, in Kouvaras, another fire raged in the middle of the day, carried by intense winds, against the backdrop of a heat wave. It thus spread to Anavyssos, 40 km south-east of the Greek capital, in Attica. A fire ” difficult “Said the same spokesperson, adding that this fire” spread 12 km in just two hours “.
In the afternoon, a man suspected of having started this second fire was arrested by the police. But according to the ANA agency, this 32-year-old individual, suspected after testimonies from residents, was finally released for lack of evidence against him.
In Lagonissi, Anavyssos or even Saronida, there are many secondary houses. Again, traffic was interrupted in the afternoon, on the roads surrounding Kalyvia. Authorities asked residents to leave the area. Several houses were burned, according to images broadcast by ERT. An equestrian center, as well as a monastery, were also evacuated.
Finally, a third front broke out, still in the afternoon, in a forest area in Boeotia, about fifty kilometers northeast of the capital. Spokesman Yannis Artopios warned that Tuesday would be ” also a difficult day “.
(With AFP)
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