Greek Mega-Fire Spreads, Forcing Evacuations in Its Path
A massive fire in Greece spread deeper into the country’s Attica region overnight and into Sunday, fanned by strong winds and forcing evacuations of villages and communities in its path.
A massive fire in Greece has spread into the Attica region, forcing evacuations and threatening the capital city of Athens and nearly four million people. The fire, which started in the Viotia area of southern central Greece on Friday, has scorched 10,000 hectares of land and is now within a few kilometers of the town of Megara.
Over 500 firefighters, including 46 volunteers from France and Romania, are battling the blaze, but strong winds are making it difficult for planes and helicopters to assist ground forces by dropping water. An investigation into the fire's origin suggests that sparks from cables feeding wind-generated energy into the grid ignited the fire.
Two Greeks, an electrical engineer and a contractor, have been arrested in connection with the incident.
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