Topline
More than a dozen towns and several hospitals north of Athens have been evacuated in the last 48 hours as the worst wildfire in Greece so far this year continues to burn despite the efforts of more than 650 firefighters, almost 200 fire engines and dozens of aerial firefighters.
A car burns during a wildfire at the village of Varnava north of Athens, Greece, on Aug. 11, 2024.
Key Facts
The fire broke out Sunday afternoon and has been called “extremely dangerous” by Vassilis Kikilias, Greece’s minister of climate crisis and civil protection, and is on track to next hit Penteli, a village about 10 miles northeast of Athens, according to CNN.
Eight nearby villages were told to evacuate on Sunday and at least five more communities, two hospitals, monasteries and a children’s home were added to the evacuation list Monday.
Plumes of smoke could be seen on the horizon from the Parthenon Monday, which sits about 500 feet above sea level in Athens, as the fire continued toward the densely populated area (about 3 million people live in the city and surrounding suburbs, and tens of millions of people visit Athens each year).
Several citizens and firefighters have been injured or treated in hospitals since the fire began, according to NBC News, but no deaths have been reported.
Officials said the flames reached more than 80 feet in height at times and the spread has been fanned by strong winds combined with hot, dangerous conditions that have placed half of Greece under a “red alert” for fires until Thursday.
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A house burns during a wildfire in Varnavas, north of Athens, on Sunday.
A house burns in Varnava, Greece.
A local gets into his car in front of the flames to evacuate during a wildfire in Dione on Aug. 12, … [+]
Key Background
Greece is no stranger to wildfires. Fires killed more than 20 people in the country last year and, in 2018, more than 100 people died when a massive fire swept through the town of Mati. Five officials and the owner of the property where the 2018 fire started were later convicted for criminal negligence in the blaze. Sunday’s fire came after Greece experienced its hottest months in history in June and July, priming the area for a blaze. Three of the four warmest July temperatures in Greece in the last 80 years were recorded in the last four years, and this July was 0.54 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the previous record.
Big Number
3.05 million. That’s how many people visited Greece in May, according to the latest data from CEIC, an economic data firm, citing figures from the Bank of Greece. Tourism to Greece has exploded in recent years, growing by 120% between 2019 and 2023, when a record-high number of tourists (36 million) visited the country. Last fall, tourism officials announced a limit of 20,000 people would be imposed on visitors to the Athens Acropolis archaeological site, where the Parthenon temple sits, in attempts to protect it from overcrowding.
A woman reacts after her rescue from a wildfire in the village of Varnava Sunday.
A local evacuates with her cat from Dion, Greece on Monday.
Smoke rises over the Parthenon temple during a wildfire on Monday.
Further Reading
Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes reporter who covers breaking news with a frequent focus on the entertainment industry, streaming, sports news, publishing, pop culture and climate change. She joined Forbes in 2023 and lives in Dallas. She’s covered Netflix’s hottest documentaries, a surge of assaults reported on social media, the most popular books of the year and how climate change stands to impact the way we eat. Roeloffs was included on Editor & Publisher Magazine’s “ 25 Under 30” list in 2023 and worked covering local news in the greater Boston area from 2017 to 2023. She graduated with a double major in political science and journalism from Northeastern University. Follow Roeloffs for continued coverage of streaming wars, pop culture news and trending topics.
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