A large-scale fire broke out in the vicinity of the Greek capital of Athens, the fire threatens homes and infrastructure, the authorities evacuated part of the population. The fire spread to the slopes of Mount Hymet, which overlooks Athens, sending clouds of thick smoke over the southern suburbs of the city.. Strong wind helped start the fire, writes The Guardian.

Residents were evacuated from parts of the Voula and Glyfada regions, about 20 km from the city center. There is concern about damage to power lines and traffic has been diverted from the area to other areas.

More than 100 firefighters fought the fire, 6 fire planes and 4 helicopters were involved in the work.

According to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, local official Giannis Konstantatos said: “The situation is appalling.. The atmosphere is stuffy, it's hard for us to breathe. Unfortunately, the fire is moving towards Panorama and now the mayor of Vari Voula Vouliagmeni has asked for an evacuation.”.

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“The fire started from the Ano Glyfada area, where, unfortunately, [dried branches] were not cleaned.

We are fighting together with the fire brigade and volunteers so that the fire does not enter the houses. This is the third fire in 20 days."

Last summer, a wave of forest fires burned about 30,000 hectares of forest and shrubs in different parts of Greece amid the worst heat wave in the country in 30 years..

Recall that earlier the State Agency for the Management of the Exclusion Zone reported forest fires in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Chernobyl nuclear power plant..