Mass evacuations were ordered across northern Athens suburbs on Sunday as scared residents watched the encroachment of a major fire that has raged out of control for the past two days, according to dpa. The fires quickly gained momentum due to gale-force winds, with the major front of the flames in the towns of Marathonas and Pendelis only 15 kilometres from the Greek capital's downtown. Earlier on Sunday, police ordered the 10,000 residents of Agios Stefanos to evacuate the area immediately as flames gathered dangerously close to the main square. "I am calling on all residents to follow the instructions of the police as to how they will escape the town," Agios Stefanos Mayor Panayiotis Bitakos told Greek television. Close to tears, he said he had told authorities early on Sunday to send fire-fighters but he feared it was too late to save anything. The fire was burning on several fronts north of Athens and had also reached the suburbs of Pallini, Pikermi and Dionysos, filling the skies over the capital with thick black smoke. At sundown, firefighters had managed to extinguish the blaze in the town of Stamata but many feared strong winds would kindle other fires overnight. "The fire is raging and is constantly being rekindled at the slightest change in the wind's direction," said fire brigade chief Giannis Kapakis. A state of emergency was declared in greater Athens in the worst destruction the country has seen since fires struck the island of Evia and the Peloponnese in 2007, killing more than 80 people. Twelve water-carrying planes, eight helicopters, 130 fire engines and more than 600 firefighters and 400 soldiers were attempting to extinguish the blaze despite blinding smoke and wind. Kapakis said two water-carrying planes from Italy, two from France and a helicopter from Cyprus were on their way to offer assistance. Officials evacuated two hospitals in the area of Pendelis and transferred patients, the majority of them children, to other hospitals around the city. Fire brigade officials said no casualties had been reported by early Sunday despite mass evacuations of campsites and villages on the outskirts of the city. However, officials fear that many people could still be trapped in their homes after refusing to leave as flames approached. The fires broke out late Friday and quickly spread, fanned by the winds to an area more than 40 kilometres wide, damaging homes and burning thousands of acres of forest and olives groves. Residents could be seen fleeing the fire on foot, by motorbike and car while blackouts and water supply cuts were reported throughout the area. Many Athenians who ignored calls to evacuate their neighborhoods could be seen fighting the flames outside their homes with water hoses and branches. Others, armed with shovels and buckets, worked side by side with firefighters and soldiers throughout the night to battle the fires. Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis toured the stricken areas by helicopter and chaired an emergency meeting as the Greek weather service said winds were not expected to abate before Monday night. More than 83 forest fires were reported to have broken out across the country in less than 24 hours, fuelled by high temperatures and winds, firefighter officials said. Blazes were also reported to be burning out of control on the Ionian island of Zakynthos, scorching nearly 2,000 acres of forest. Other fires were reported on the eastern Greek islands of Evia and Skyros. Forest fires have become more frequent in Greece in recent summers, triggered by high temperatures and drought but also arson.
