Greek firefighters on Friday battled wildfires fanned by three days of fierce winds that have left at least one person dead, authorities said.
A 55-year-old man collapsed and died while helping to fight one of four major blazes ravaging the southern Peloponnese peninsula, where several villages have been evacuated, according to a fire service spokesman.
According to the Greek news agency AMNA, dozens of firefighters battled to put out one blaze near a power station outside the town of Magapoli, and six water-bomber aeroplanes and two helicopters were brought in to help.
The other fires are in the Argolis, Messenia and Achaea regions of the Peloponnese at a time when the peninsular is starting to hit its peak tourist season.
"The conditions are extremely challenging," fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told reporters, noting that wind speeds had exceeded 95 kilometres (60 miles) per hour in some regions, hampering aerial firefighting efforts.
In all, he said, "45 fire outbreaks have been recorded across the country."
The man who died was a resident of the Peloponnese village of Myrtia. A fire service spokesman told AFP that according to witnesses, he collapsed while fighting the flames around his village. Several homes have been destroyed or damaged by the wildfires.
Greek authorities have warned of the growing wildfire risk due to strong winds and high temperatures, which in some areas have reached 40 degrees Celsius (101 Fahrenheit).
Scientists warn that fossil fuel emissions caused by humans are worsening the length and intensity of heatwaves around the world, leading to extended wildfire seasons and increasing the area burnt by the blazes.
Mavro Lithari
Earlier in the day, Vathrakogiannis said that the wildfire that broke out on Friday afternoon in a mixed agricultural and forested area in Mavro Lithari, Attica and led to the temporary shutdown of the Athens-Sounion road, was placed under control two hours after it broke out.
In the case of Mavro Lithari, a message to the residents of Saronida through emergency number 112 warned them to be on standby because of a forest fire in their area and instructed those who are in the Mavro Lithari area in Anavyssos to evacuate in the direction of Glyfada. The fire started near houses.
Central Greece
Vathrakogiannis said that 45 fires broke out in Greece on Friday. "In several cases, wind velocity exceeds 95 km/hr, which hinders the approach by air, and our pilots are expending every possible effort to approach the fire fronts safely," he added.
In Central Greece, the fire fronts in Thebes were restricted, and firefighters tried to control them, among other things. Two fires in particular that were put out started within minutes of each other in an agricultural region in Thiva, burning dry grass and posing a threat to nearby businesses and factories.
In Goulemi (Fthiotida), despite strong winds, firefighters and volunteers tried to stop the fire's progression while farmers used their machinery to create fire lanes in the fields.
In Panagia Pountas, part of the Kymi-Aliveri Municipality on Evia Island, an excavating machine fell into a ravine and caught on fire for unknown reasons. The driver is safe, but the fire spread to a hard-to-access area.
Evacuations
Dozens of villages have meanwhile been directed to evacuate, with residents warned through the emergency system of 112.
In Achaia (northern Peloponnese), evacuations included the region of Mazaraki, and in Ilia (NW Peloponnese) they included Prodromos, Simopoulos, Skliva, Vouliagmenti, Kalo Pedi.
All evacuees directed to the city of Patras will be housed in centres near the Xystri Park and the Aghia Varvara Sports Center by order of Pyrgos Mayor Stathis Kannis, who also ordered evacuations in several of the above villages. The town has also cancelled all events.
Hospitals on alert
Later on Friday, the Peloponnese health authorities placed the hospitals in the cites of Patras, Pyrgos, and the Argolid on high alert.
