Wildfires burning across Attica and Boeotia for a third consecutive night have scorched roughly 111,000 stremmata (about 27,400 acres), Greek weather service Meteo said, as authorities issued fresh evacuation orders and firefighters battled flames encircling homes near the villages of Agios Nektarios and Kryo Pigadi.
Satellite data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite, analyzed by the Copernicus Emergency Management Service, showed roughly 30,900 stremmata burned in the Boeotia fire and 80,800 stremmata in the still-active Porto Germeno blaze in Attica.
A new emergency alert issued at 11 p.m. Sunday ordered residents of Louba, Ano Alepochori, Morfeika and Stanes Morfa to evacuate toward Megara as flames advanced rapidly.
Fire crews reported the most critical fronts near Kryo Pigadi, Agios Nektarios and Kandili in Megara, with fire also active near Psatha. Images from Orange Press Agency showed flames encircling homes near Kryo Pigadi and Agios Nektarios, though officials had not yet confirmed the extent of property damage.
More than 400 firefighters, 20 wildland units, volunteers and over 120 vehicles remained deployed in the area, backed by military and municipal heavy machinery cutting firebreaks around Agios Nektarios and Kryo Pigadi. Across Attica and Boeotia, 496 firefighters were operating, including 46 firefighters and eight vehicles from France and Romania under the EU’s firefighter pre-positioning program.
One volunteer firefighter returned from saving other residents’ homes to find his own burned to the ground. In Venizza, near Megara, the fire caused extensive damage as crews worked to prevent flames from reaching Mandra.
The battle continued in the wake of Sunday’s deadly helicopter collision near Psatha, which killed a Danish pilot and a Greek coordinator-translator. New Democracy’s press office expressed condolences, saying the crew “sacrificed what they held most precious” while serving until the last moment.
Separately, on Kefalonia, fires burning since Saturday night have consumed more than 6,000 stremmata; a 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of deliberately starting the blaze.
