More than 700 firefighters have been deployed as a serious forest fire rages out of control on the outskirts of the Greek capital, Athens. The historic Greek town of Marathon, is said to be “engulfed in flames”, with the population evacuated.
The Greek minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, said: “Since yesterday afternoon, the residents of northeastern Attica have been facing an extremely dangerous wildfire that we have been battling for over 20 hours under dramatic conditions.
“These challenges are due to the strong winds, prolonged drought, and the very difficult and rugged terrain of dense, unburnt forest.
“Currently, a fierce battle is being waged on two fronts: one in the area of Kallitechnoupoli and the other in the area of Grammatikos.
“We will continue with all our strength until the fire is under control and every last hotspot is extinguished.”
The US Embassy in Athens has put out a warning urging travellers to “exercise extreme caution in affected areas”, saying: “The General Secretariat for Civil Protection has announced Very High Fire Risk (Risk Category 4) and Extreme Fire Risk (Risk Category 5) for many areas in Greece, including areas close to Athens.”
This is happening in the peak summer spell, so what are your rights if you are there or have a holiday booked?
Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent, has some answers.
Are planes and ferries still running?
Yes. Flights are continuing normally for now at Athens airport: smoke can be seen from planes taking off and landing.
With the current landing pattern, aircraft are approaching from exactly the opposite direction.
The standard approach for arriving aircraft has been to loop around to the south of Athens, over the Saronic Gulf, and land from southwest to northeast.
Departing aircraft are taking off normally over the Petalioi Gulf.
There is no immediate threat to the airport as the area surrounding it is partly built up, and the open land has very little vegetation.
It’s a different story on the ferries. Greece’s coastguard has ordered all ferries going to and from the nearby port of Rafina to be diverted to the port of Lavrio, further south, due to the fire.
Rafina was where dozens of people were killed in wildfires in 2018.
What is the effect on ferry travel?
Rafina serves mainly the Cycladic…
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