The Prague Post - New wildfire near Athens, Crete blaze 'retreating': firefighters

EUR -
AED 4.326457
AFN 82.270075
ALL 97.894213
AMD 452.78073
ANG 2.107942
AOA 1080.10649
ARS 1455.54023
AUD 1.798472
AWG 2.12311
AZN 1.966516
BAM 1.955326
BBD 2.377474
BDT 144.445017
BGN 1.95663
BHD 0.444007
BIF 3507.950403
BMD 1.17787
BND 1.499605
BOB 8.136857
BRL 6.369215
BSD 1.17749
BTN 100.493514
BWP 15.596223
BYN 3.853385
BYR 23086.2467
BZD 2.365227
CAD 1.603104
CDF 3398.153784
CHF 0.934628
CLF 0.028561
CLP 1096.007178
CNY 8.439912
CNH 8.44002
COP 4712.762796
CRC 594.643361
CUC 1.17787
CUP 31.213548
CVE 110.238301
CZK 24.634009
DJF 209.679217
DKK 7.461757
DOP 70.471437
DZD 152.387425
EGP 58.14291
ERN 17.668046
ETB 163.415654
FJD 2.638723
FKP 0.862757
GBP 0.863172
GEL 3.203511
GGP 0.862757
GHS 12.18679
GIP 0.862757
GMD 84.215516
GNF 10212.52661
GTQ 9.053615
GYD 246.352427
HKD 9.246071
HNL 30.764549
HRK 7.533299
HTG 154.599276
HUF 398.799015
IDR 19076.483673
ILS 3.944073
IMP 0.862757
INR 100.712161
IQD 1542.493682
IRR 49617.762102
ISK 142.428338
JEP 0.862757
JMD 187.944481
JOD 0.835124
JPY 170.215166
KES 152.134035
KGS 103.00473
KHR 4730.854226
KMF 492.349308
KPW 1060.039519
KRW 1605.43671
KWD 0.359615
KYD 0.981362
KZT 611.50075
LAK 25373.316248
LBP 105502.009021
LKR 353.284437
LRD 236.087811
LSL 20.712884
LTL 3.477943
LVL 0.712481
LYD 6.342464
MAD 10.56894
MDL 19.834775
MGA 5298.60426
MKD 61.545697
MMK 2473.116737
MNT 4226.647685
MOP 9.520694
MRU 46.734681
MUR 52.945264
MVR 18.138397
MWK 2041.922799
MXN 21.953524
MYR 4.971789
MZN 75.337055
NAD 20.712444
NGN 1801.940508
NIO 43.329506
NOK 11.861154
NPR 160.784647
NZD 1.946393
OMR 0.452897
PAB 1.177515
PEN 4.175389
PGK 4.863822
PHP 66.487251
PKR 334.263444
PLN 4.243688
PYG 9383.528223
QAR 4.303658
RON 5.05954
RSD 117.180393
RUB 92.759623
RWF 1692.690044
SAR 4.417493
SBD 9.819811
SCR 16.6213
SDG 707.315023
SEK 11.258114
SGD 1.501242
SHP 0.925621
SLE 26.443646
SLL 24699.343611
SOS 672.922741
SRD 43.799073
STD 24379.525293
SVC 10.303505
SYP 15314.696865
SZL 20.695933
THB 38.151505
TJS 11.451227
TMT 4.134323
TND 3.430696
TOP 2.758687
TRY 46.944987
TTD 7.985896
TWD 34.103452
TZS 3117.474911
UAH 49.108106
UGX 4223.887358
USD 1.17787
UYU 47.258554
UZS 14786.41885
VES 128.945524
VND 30824.261888
VUV 140.321512
WST 3.064494
XAF 655.798171
XAG 0.031947
XAU 0.000353
XCD 3.183252
XDR 0.815741
XOF 655.798171
XPF 119.331742
YER 285.220831
ZAR 20.748552
ZMK 10602.242088
ZMW 28.524486
ZWL 379.273572
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

New wildfire near Athens, Crete blaze 'retreating': firefighters

New wildfire near Athens, Crete blaze 'retreating': firefighters

A wildfire on the island of Crete that forced the evacuation of 5,000 tourists and locals is "retreating", Greek firefighters told AFP on Friday, but a new blaze fanned by strong winds is spreading east of the capital, Athens.

Text size:

Hot dry weather in Greece -- not unusual for this time of year -- has heightened the risk of summer wildfires, and scientists say human-driven climate change is making them more frequent and more intense.

The new wildfire broke out at Koropi, a town some 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of Athens, where residents received text messages from civil protection units urging them to evacuate the vicinity.

That fire "has reached the courtyards of the houses", Koropi mayor Dimitris Kiousis told public television channel ERT.

"The fire is ongoing. All residents (in threatened areas) have been evacuated," Thodoris Grivas, deputy mayor of Koropi, told ERT.

"We do not yet know the extent of the disaster," Grivas added.

Early on Friday afternoon, at least two water bombers and two helicopters were battling flames fanned by strong winds blowing across Attica, the Athens region, and the capital itself.

The fire was destroying olive trees and brushwood, ERT images showed.

Firefighters earlier managed to bring under control a separate fire which had on Thursday threatened the port of Rafina, around 20 kilometres northeast of Koropi, after some 300 local people were evacuated from their homes.

Fire crews remained on alert, as the Rafina wildfire was not far from Athens International Airport and winds still posed a threat.

The blaze destroyed a several houses and vehicles, local mayor Dimitris Markou told ERT.

It also disrupted ferries to and from tourist islands in the western Aegean, including Mykonos.

- Winds abating -

On the island of Crete, around 230 firefighters, 48 fire engines and six helicopters remained at the scene near the resort town of Ierapetra, even though the blaze was receding.

Some 3,000 visitors had been forced to leave their hotels and guest houses on Wednesday evening and 2,000 local residents were also evacuated, authorities said.

"The fire is retreating," fire department spokesman Vassilios Vathrakoyannis told AFP.

"There are still fears of flare-ups but there is no longer a major front," he added.

Scattered hot spots still remained and firefighters were dealing with several smoke-filled areas from which flare-ups had restarted, the fire department told the ANA press agency.

Weakening winds in the hard-to-reach area had improved the situation, firefighters said, although a fire brigade spokesperson had warned overnight of some "difficult" days ahead.

Greece had until now been generally spared the heatwave roasting parts of Europe, particularly Spain, Portugal and France over recent days.

But starting this weekend, temperatures are forecast to rise, reaching up to 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) in some areas of the country.

O.Holub--TPP