Greece evacuates villages as forest fire rages in Corinth region

Authorities in the Corinth region of southern Greece have moved people from six villages to safety as fire fighters battled a forest fire with scores of trucks and 21 aircraft, they said on Thursday.

No deaths were reported in the blaze that broke out on Wednesday night in a forest at a small seaside holiday resort at the Corinth Gulf on the Peloponnese peninsula, about 90 km from the capital, Athens.

Six villages and two monasteries in the Gerania mountains were evacuated, while residents at another village were told on Thursday to leave their homes as the blaze, fanned by strong winds, moved eastward and crossed into western Attica.

A local looks at flame rising among houses as a wildfire burns in the village of Schinos, near Corinth, Greece, May 19, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

Many Athenians woke up to the smell of fire and thin clouds of smoke could be seen from many parts of the city.

“Some 300 people have been evacuated,” police spokesperson Theodoros Chronopoulos told Reuters.

"We are mainly talking about settlements 90% of which are holiday homes," fire brigade spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told Reuters, adding that the fire was burning wooded land and thick vegetation.

More than 180 fire fighters were battling the blaze backed by 62 fire trucks, 17 aircraft and three helicopters, the fire brigade said on Twitter.

Firefighters and volunteers try to extinguish a wildfire burning in the village of Schinos, near Corinth, Greece, May 19, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS