Arrr! The roads be blocked and the refinery be in peril as the Greek inferno continues to rage!
2023-07-18
Arrr! Blisterin' barnacles! Thar be wildfires devourin' the lands west o' Athens, Greece! The scurvy dogs in charge had to shutter the highways to keep the flames from swashbucklin' an oil refinery!
In the scorching heat outside the Greek capital, swift-moving wildfires wreaked havoc, causing authorities to shut down highways to protect an oil refinery. The fiery whirlwind prompted the European Union to promise additional aid, while forecasts predicted more extreme heat on the horizon. To assist Greece in combating the inferno, Italy and France dispatched two firefighting planes each, joining the 30 Romanian firefighters already stationed there as part of an EU fire program. The situation rapidly escalated into a major crisis, leading the Fire Service to evacuate residents from their homes. Firefighters canceled vacations and leaves, while Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis abruptly returned from Brussels to meet with the heads of the Fire Service and Civil Protection Agency. Flames continued to rage out of control in various areas, including the town of Loutraki, where more homes succumbed to the blaze. In Mandra, police rushed through narrow streets, assisting residents into their cars as the fire approached. Even an Orthodox Christian monastery required police assistance to evacuate nuns. Smaller fires also erupted near the capital, fueled by the dry vegetation and extreme temperatures of the previous week. To aid firefighters in their battle and prevent the flames from reaching a major oil refinery, sections of two highways linking Athens to Corinth were closed. Greece activated a rapid mapping evaluation system that employs EU satellite data to assess the extent of the fire damage. With a second heatwave expected, temperatures were forecasted to soar to a scorching 44°C (111°F) in central and southern parts of the country by week's end. Reporting from Athens, ___ Gatopoulos.