Greek crews fight wildfire northwest of Athens for fourth day

Greek firefighters have been battling a wildfire northwest of Athens for a fourth consecutive day, as strong winds have fanned the flames and caused extensive damage. The blaze has scorched homes, thousands of hectares of farmland, and pine forests, prompting emergency evacuations by land and sea. Tragically, two firefighters lost their lives on Sunday when their firefighting helicopter crashed after colliding with another helicopter near the seaside town of Psatha, approximately 40 miles from Athens.

The survivor of the crash, a Greek national, and a British colleague, managed to escape the incident.

On Monday, a significant response was mounted, with heavy machinery, water tanks, and 21 aircraft deployed to protect nearby communities of Kandili and Agia Skepi. Local authorities constructed fire breaks to prevent the wildfire from reaching residential areas. Scientists attribute the recent surge in wildfires across Europe to record-breaking heatwaves and little rainfall, conditions exacerbated by climate change.

The incident comes amid a challenging week for Greek emergency services, following three firefighter fatalities in separate fires in Crete and the Peloponnese on July 29. Deputy Climate Crisis Minister Kostas Katsafados expressed the gravity of the situation, stating that Greece is fighting an uphill battle against the impact of the climate crisis.

The strong winds experienced in recent days have rendered water bombers unable to draw sea water and deploy it effectively, leaving ground forces to confront the blazes independently.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire's ignition point in Boeotia, northwest of Athens, may have been caused by sparks from vibrating conductors on a private power line supplying electricity from wind turbines. Two Greek nationals, an electrical engineer and a contractor, have been arrested and face felony arson charges. In recent years, faulty power lines have emerged as a leading cause of major wildfires in Greece, outpacing arson and negligence as contributing factors.