Vassileios Vathrakogannis, spokesperson for the rescue service, says that firefighters are no longer fighting a cohesive, long fire front – but "several active local fires", mainly around Marathon and Pendeli.
The massive, fast-moving fire with flames over 25 meters high has been driven by strong winds, which, however, subsided somewhat during Monday evening.
On Tuesday afternoon, the winds are expected to pick up again. According to the weather forecast, gusts of up to 16-19 meters per second can be expected.
Over 700 firefighters, 17 firefighting aircraft, 16 helicopters, and 21 specially trained teams focused on forest fires are fighting to get control of the flames. On Tuesday, they are expected to receive support from firefighters from other EU countries, after Greece requested that the EU's civil protection mechanism be activated. Reinforcements are arriving from France, Italy, Serbia, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Turkey.
Tens of thousands evacuated
The large fire broke out in Varnávas, three miles from Athens, on Sunday and then spread.
Over 30,000 residents were ordered to leave the town of Marathon on Sunday evening. The evacuation order was later extended to parts of Athens' suburbs. TV footage shows houses in flames, burned-out cars, and helicopters water-bombing the flames.
One deceased
In a video published by the Greek police on social media, police officers can be seen carrying elderly people out of their homes to waiting cars, against a backdrop of fiercely red flames. Around 380 police officers have assisted in the evacuations.
Just after midnight, the rescue service announced that a person had been found dead in a burned-out building in the suburb of Vrilissia in northeastern Athens.
The fire risk has been extremely high in half of Greece due to drought and strong winds. The country has had the hottest summer in a long time. Both June and July saw heat records broken.
