Wildfire prompts evacuations near Athens as summer's first heat wave hits Greece

ATHENS, Greece — A large wildfire broke out south of Athens on Thursday, triggering authorities to issue evacuation orders and shut down parts of the coastal road linking the Greek capital to Sounion, location of the ancient Temple of Poseidon, a major tourist attraction.

The fire came as temperatures approached 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in Greece's first heatwave of the summer.

''Right now, strong land and air forces are fighting a huge battle against the flames, mainly among homes,'' fire department spokesman Col. Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said during a press briefing Thursday afternoon.

Twelve water-dropping planes and 12 helicopters were providing air support to 130 firefighters, backed up by volunteer firefighters in the Palaia Fokaia seaside area south of Athens, Vathrakogiannis said. A coast guard firefighting vessel doused the flames from the sea.

The fire, which reportedly broke out within a populated area, was fanned by strong winds that frequently changed direction, sending plumes of smoke fanning out across the sky. Television footage showed at least one home burning.

Local mayor Dimitris Loukas said on Greece's state-run ERT television that several houses were believed to have been damaged by the blaze, but added that exact information on property destruction was not immediately available.

The coast guard said two patrol boats and nine private vessels were on standby in the Palaia Fokaia area in case an evacuation by sea became necessary. Ambulances were also on standby but had not been required by Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

''We're telling people to leave their homes,'' local town councilor Apostolos Papadakis said on Greece's state-run ERT television. Parts of the coastal road connecting Athens to Sounion were closed in both directions, with people urged to take alternate routes to leave the area.

Fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said 40 people had been evacuated by police, while evacuation orders were issued for a total of five areas.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but the fire department spokesman said that an arson investigation unit had been sent to the area.

The entire wider Athens area, as well as several Aegean islands, were on Level 4 of a 5-level scale for the danger of wildfires due to the weather conditions, with the heatwave expected to last until the weekend.

Earlier in the week, hundreds of firefighters took four days to bring a major wildfire under control on the eastern Aegean island of Chios. More than a dozen evacuation orders had been issued for Chios, where the flames devoured forest and farmland. The fire department said one woman had been arrested on suspicion of having contributed to that fire's start — reportedly by discarding a cigarette.

Wildfires are frequent in Greece during its hot, dry summers. In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee. More than 100 died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.