"The EU's civil protection mechanism has been activated at the request of Greek authorities," says EU spokesperson Balazs Ujvari in a statement. Italy, France, the Czech Republic, and Romania are sending forces, he adds.
Over 700 firefighters and 200 firefighting aircraft are fighting to get control over the situation. A massive fire that broke out in Varnávas, three miles from Athens, is raging out of control. At the same time, fires have been burning in several other places due to the extreme heat.
The historic town of Marathon north of Athens has been evacuated. Over 30,000 residents were ordered to leave the municipality on Sunday evening and head towards the coastal town of Néa Mákri.
Houses and cars are on fire
The evacuation order has been extended to parts of Athens as the fire has reached the suburbs in the northeast. TV footage shows houses in flames, burned-out cars, and helicopters water-bombing the flames.
Among other things, a children's hospital and a military hospital have been evacuated. In Athens, three hospitals are on high alert, and so far, two firefighters have been reported lightly injured, and several civilians are being treated for smoke inhalation.
Residents of Penteli, a suburb of Athens at the foot of the famous Pentelikon marble mountain, watched helplessly as strong winds on Monday pushed the fire closer to their homes.
Some houses burned down after midnight, and we're trying to protect our restaurant, says local resident Mariana Papathanasi to AFP.
Mitsotakis returned
By late afternoon, 10,000 hectares had burned. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has cut short his vacation due to the fire situation and returned to Athens.
The fire risk is extremely high in half of Greece due to drought and strong winds, Minister Vassilis Kikilias announced on Saturday.
The country has had the hottest summer in a long time. Both June and July saw heat records broken.
