Greece battles final blaze near Athens as damage assessment begins

• The fire is still in progress, with most fronts eased three days after igniting.
• State inspectors are assessing damaged buildings as residents return to their homes.
• The fire damaged about 10,000 hectares of land, with the cause unknown.

Firefighters worked on Wednesday to extinguish the remnants of a wildfire near Athens that killed a woman, burned buildings, and destroyed woodland, forcing thousands to flee their homes. While most of the fronts had eased three days after the blaze first ignited, officials cautioned against complacency.

“The fire is still in progress. It has not been brought under control yet,” a fire brigade official said.

State inspectors began assessing damaged buildings as fire-stricken residents returned to their scorched properties, hoping to find some belongings amidst the debris. Since Sunday, hundreds of firefighters, supported by 12 aircraft, have been battling the blaze as it surged from a forest near Varnavas, 35 kilometers from the capital, into Athens' northern suburbs.

Greece’s National Observatory reported that the fire had damaged about 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of land. The cause of the blaze remains undetermined. Greece remains on high fire alert until Thursday, with temperatures expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), raising concerns about potential flare-ups. Wildfires have been a common feature of Greek summers for years, but climate change has increased the risk by bringing hotter weather and reduced rainfall.

The country, which recently tightened penalties for arson, has faced over 3,500 fires since May, marking a nearly 50 percent increase from the same period in 2023, when it recorded 2,300 blazes, according to government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a meeting on Tuesday evening to address the latest blaze.

“We are trying to improve every year. But conditions are only becoming tougher,” he told ministers according to a government official.

The fire that broke out on Sunday spread rapidly across several fronts, reaching the seaside area of Nea Makri, the historic town of Marathon, and suburbs on the slopes of Mount Penteli, one of Athens’ last green lungs, within hours. On Monday, authorities found a woman dead inside a burned local business in the suburb of Vrilissia, about 10 km from central Athens.

The government has announced compensation and relief measures for those affected by the disaster. Experts explained that the fire spread rapidly due to a phenomenon called spotting, where wind whirls carry burning matter across long distances. This process created new fire fronts that eventually merged, contributing to the blaze’s swift advance.

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