First, the most sparsely populated town of Varnáva, three miles northeast of Athens, was evacuated, where a large fire is raging. Later in the evening, the rescue service announced that the city of Marathon and some suburbs of Athens would also be evacuated.
Over 30,000 residents have been ordered to leave Marathon and head towards the coastal town of Néa Mákri.
The smoke development from the fire was so intense that in parts of Athens, the sky was covered in reddish smoke. Flames 25 meters high were reported from the fire area.
Winds hinder
Strong gusty winds are hindering the firefighting efforts, according to Kostas Lagouvardos, head of the National Observatory in Athens. At the same time, temperatures of 39 degrees are expected on Monday.
The fire is moving quickly towards a lake that is an important water reservoir for Athens. An unknown number of houses have burned down, said Vassileios Vathrakogiannis, spokesperson for the rescue service, in the evening.
Over 250 firefighters, 67 vehicles, 12 firefighting planes, and six helicopters are fighting the fire in Varnáva. The military is on standby to intervene.
A fire that started in the afternoon in the historic city of Megara, about four miles northwest of Athens, has been partially extinguished.
Burning in several places
During the past 24 hours, the rescue service has managed to extinguish 33 out of 40 fires, according to Vathrakogiannis.
The fire risk is extremely high in half of Greece due to drought and strong gusty winds, announced Minister Vassilis Kikilias on Saturday.
Greece has had the hottest summer in a long time. Both June and July saw record-breaking heat.
