"It's a disaster, people are scared"
The wildfires in Greece are also moving towards the capital, Athens. Some suburbs have already left behind black walls and charred roofs. Residents look on with concern as the wall of fire approaches.
Thick smoke hangs over Mount Penteli on the northeastern outskirts of Athens. Its quarries once supplied the famous Pentelic marble for the Acropolis and other ancient buildings in the Greek capital. Now, the 1109-meter-high mountain is on fire, and the massive wildfire continues to spread.
The nearby city of Marathon and several surrounding areas have already been evacuated. Houses along the roads leading out of the historic city have black walls and charred roofs. "It's a disaster," says social worker Maria Kanavaki from Marathon. "Everything is burned. People are afraid. And what about the water? Will we have enough water?" wonders the 55-year-old.
Kanavaki still remembers a wildfire disaster with more than a hundred deaths in the nearby coastal town of Mati six years ago. Some of the victims were burned in their cars while trying to escape. Many people are still traumatized, says Kanavaki. "They still cry. So it's not easy to face all this again. I'm worried about the people."
"Firefighters are doing their best"
Two volunteers have brought seven cats to the cultural center of Marathon. The authorities had asked the delivery driver, Ivan Mahmood, to help rescue the animals. Most owners are older women and men without a car - and thus without an escape option. "They're in shock, but they don't want to leave," reports the 27-year-old from the coastal town of Nea Makri.
In the town of Penteli, an Athens suburb on the other side of the mountain, Mariana Papathanasi prays that her house and her favorite tavern will be spared. Some houses have already burned down, reports the 49-year-old supermarket employee. A children's hospital and a military hospital in Penteli have also been evacuated.
Biting smoke also hangs over the town of Dione. The flames have engulfed several cars. Residents report that they barely managed to escape before the fire reached their houses. The flames have blackened the walls of several residential buildings.
The Greek fire service has been fighting the fire with hundreds of firefighters, water-dropping aircraft, and helicopters since Sunday afternoon, but has so far been unable to stop the wall of fire approaching Athens. The strong wind, which drives the flames ahead and spreads them further, is particularly challenging. "The firefighters are doing their best," says saleswoman Papathanasi from Marathon. "They've been with us, the people on the ground, the whole time."
Even higher up on the mountain, along the road to Nea Makri, the flames have already consumed trees and shrubs, leaving only black earth behind. Christoforos, a 53-year-old volunteer firefighter in Penteli, is very worried about Nea Makri: Two large fire fronts could converge in the coastal town.
The smoke from the forest fires on Mount Penteli has reached Marathon, causing concern among its residents. Many houses in the area have already suffered damage, with black walls and charred roofs.
With the forest fires spreading towards Athens, the Greek fire service is utilizing hundreds of firefighters, water-dropping aircraft, and helicopters to halt the approaching wall of fire.
