As of last night, fires burning since Wednesday morning through a forest area in the Erymanthos municipality of NW Peloponnese, have been persisting according to mayor Theodoros Baris.
Residents in the community of Pteri were instructed to evacuate their homes for precautionary reasons, he added, following the earlier evacuation of Drosia community, where the burning forest area lies. There still is no information available as to structural damages in the Pteri area, added the mayor.
Two more residential communities at Trivoga and Christopouleika were also told to be on alert for a potential evacuation.
A force of 95 firefighters, 35 fire engines and 3 ground teams are operating against the blaze, assisted by 6 aircraft and 2 helicopters.
Meanwhile, more forces have been added to a blaze at the outskirts of the city of Patras, further north on the Peloponnese, near communities in the region of Elekistra. The 50 firefighters have been increased to 70, and the 16 fire engines to 25, while there are now 6 airplanes and 2 helicopters dousing the fire with water.
An emergency meeting washeld at the Fire Brigade's HQ in the city of Patras to assess the situation with the fires at Elekistria and Drosia. Western Greece Governor Nektarios Farmakis said that all civil protection and local government resources were being utilised to battle the fires, including efforts by volunteer civilians.
READ: Greece: Authorities Warn Of High Fire Risk Across Four Regions