Fires near Athens controlled after claiming two lives

ATHENS

A firefighter walks through a burned area as flames engulf a house during a wildfire on the island of Salamina, west of Athens, Greece. (AP photo)

Two fires on the Greek island of Salamis near Athens that claimed two lives and led to the evacuation of nearly 600 people have been largely extinguished, the fire service said on Aug. 17.

“The situation is better, there is no active front,” a fire department spokesman told AFP, adding that two helicopters and over 200 firefighters remained in the area.

The fires broke out on Aug. 16 near packed beaches in the south and east of the island just west of Athens that is popular with day travelers. The evacuations were carried out by boat.

Though the civil protection agency quickly issued evacuation orders, the fire department said the fires spread in just seven minutes owing to strong winds, trapping an elderly couple near their home.

Three people remained hospitalized with burns on Aug. 17.

After largely escaping the heat wave temperatures that blanketed much of Europe, Greece has been hit with several major wildfires since late July, fueled by strong winds.

Thirty-six blazes have broken out over the past 24 hours around the country, according to the fire department.

Five firefighters have died so far, including a Danish pilot killed in a mid-air collision between two helicopters while battling a blaze near Athens earlier this month.

Meanwhile, a German town close to Belgium on Aug. 16 ordered some of its residents to evacuate as the worst wildfire in modern Belgian history raged just over the border.

According to a statement from the mayor’s office in Monschau, a town with 12,000 residents, two streets were being evacuated as a result of the fire and smoke, along with the weather conditions.