Firefighters battle into night to keep blaze north of Athens from homes

At least 485 firefighters, including a team from Romania, battled to contain a fire as night fell on Tuesday that ripped across Mount Penteli and came close to homes in the greater Athens region, some 27 kilometres north of the centre.

Four suburbs and a hospital were evacuated after orders were sent by text message and police assisted in the distancing of residents.

Special ground units, the military, and volunteers had joined the fight as 24 aircraft operating in the region ceased water drops after darkness. Firefighters worked amidst fierce winds that continued to propel the flames near homes. Orange flames formed long lines along the hillsides and the glow and smoke from the fire was seen in downtown Athens.

There were no initial reports of injuries or anyone trapped in the blaze, the Greek Fire Service said. It was not clear if any homes had been damaged.

Police closed off roads and redirected traffic, and prepared to patrol through the night and remain on standby if any other evacuations were necessary.

"All the forces in the field will remain active and will be further re-inforced with the aim of containing the fire, while air assets will be ready to begin operations at the first light of day," said Fire Service spokesman Ioannis Artopios. Hospitals and ambulances had been put on alert, said Artopios.

Thousands of acres of land were scorched and houses burned in fires that lasted for weeks in 2021, after a prolonged heatwave. The fires prompted the government to revamp its civil protection ministry and come up with a pre-emptive readiness program for the summer, which includes bringing in firefighters from other EU nations to assist on the ground, such as the Romanian team. A German team is also stationed in central Greece.

Aerial views taken from an airplane on Tuesday showed the large trail of smoke from a fire burning in a northern suburb of Athens that filled the sky for kilometres.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of neighbourhoods in the area, some 27 kilometres north and northeast from the city centre, as flames reached dangerously close to homes and firefighting aircraft battled to keep the blaze from houses.

Residents in the area were sent phone alerts to pre-emptively evacuate their homes while fire brigade vehicles driving through the area ordered people to evacuate through loudspeakers.

Authorities had issued a fire precaution warning for Tuesday after strong winds were forecast for the country.

Last year, wildfires ravaged about 300,000 acres (121,000 hectares) of forest and bushland in different parts of Greece as the country experienced its worst heatwave in 30 years.