The scourge of summertime wildfires in southern Greece suddenly emerged with a vengeance on Monday amid arid conditions and swirling winds, with several blazes around the greater Athens area’s remaining pine forests and rural areas.
Besides the first blaze, which was first recorded in the west Attica coastal resort town of Kinetta, wildfires later erupted to the east of Athens (Rafina, Pikermi, Mati, Neos Voutzas) and to the north of the Greek capital, on the slopes of Mt. Penteli.
Roadways were blocked on stretches of two coastal highways, one west of Athens and the other to the east.
The Greek government, later in the afternoon, requested international assistance to tackle the blazes.
