Fiery nightmare in Parnitha: Battle to save houses and the National Park - Settlements evacuated

See video and photos – “The fire has gone from the urban fabric and a small focus of fire is inside the National Park in a ravine”, the Deputy Mayor of Acharnon told SKAI – Houses were burnt in areas of Menidi

In Parnitha is located fire which has been burning since yesterday morning in the area of Fili. Firefighters are fighting hard to contain the fire front and prevent it from spreading further. During its passage, the fire burned houses in areas of Menidi while the detention center in Amygdaleza was evacuated as a precaution.

“The fire has gone from the urban fabric, no one is in danger and a small focus of fire is located inside the National Forest in a ravine that exists on the western part of the mountain. I think that if light winds continue to blow, we will have a better night than yesterday”, said to SKAI, a few minutes before 18.00 in the afternoon, the Deputy Mayor of Acharno, Michalis Vrettos.

He noted that residents are slowly returning to their homes and that “a terrible job has been done” by the aerial means and the fire brigade.

A huge mushroom of smoke hid the sun. Video obtained by SKAI shows the size of the front in the area:

The Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias described the situation in Parnitha as extremely critical, especially for the next few hours, in a press conference he gave on the forest fires that have occurred in the country. “All our efforts have been focused on stopping the fire front,” he said and added that “the superhuman effort of our firefighters, volunteer firefighters, citizens continues on the parallel fire fronts we are facing.”

“When the first outbreak broke out in Parnitha, in the Monastery of Kleiston at 12:00, the aerial means were immediately diverted to carry out airstrikes in a few minutes of the hour. The speed of response was the maximum possible, but the fire due to the gusty winds and the terrain of the area spread. The aerial vehicles arrived within 4-5 minutes over the first outbreak of Parnitha”, he said.

The minister pointed out that this is an unprecedented situation and emphasized that this summer is the worst since the time when meteorological data is collected and the Risk Map is issued for a fire event in the country.

Speaking to earlier, the representative of the Fire Department, Yiannis Artopioos, said that the wind had died down, however, the fire created spots in the wider area of Parnitha, which created new foci of fire, especially in the northern part of the Fire Department’s operation.

During its passage, the fire burned houses in the area of Agia Paraskevi Menidi. Residents, like those in the Capota camp area and in Lefanto, received a message from 112 to evacuate and head towards the center of Menidi.

The SKAI reporter Christos Stratoulakos described the tragic moments that the residents lived, seeing their houses disappear in the flames.

The fire brigade and volunteers are fighting to save the houses in the area of Agios Ioannis Rossos, in Menidi.

Meanwhile, relatives of a 77-year-old man are looking for his traces in Hasia, as they have not been able to locate him in the last few hours.

Another message was also sent to evacuate the Lefanto area towards the center of Ano Liosia.

Traffic regulations

Traffic regulations are in effect in the Tribe area due to an ongoing fire. In particular, the traffic of vehicles has been stopped:

On Phylis Avenue from the height of the roundabout before Panagia Kanala
From the junction of Parnithos and Boskiza streets
From the junction of Parnithos and Agia Paraskevi streets
From the junction of Filias ton Lao and Galini streets
From the junction of Filias ton Laos and Thrace streets
On Parnithos Avenue from the height of “Ermitaz Hall”
From the junction of Fyli and regional Egaleo streets, head towards Ano Liosia
On the avenue of Phylis and Holy Monastery of Dormition of the Virgin “Kleisten”
On Parnithos avenue from the height of the “Aigli” tavern
At the junction of Agios Dionysios and Dardiza streets

Since the morning it became known that the fire that started yesterday at noon has split in two, with one front moving towards Dardiza, Agios Ioannis the Russian and Agia Paraskevi and the other in Dekelia.

They operate 202 firefighters with 9 groups of infantry departments, 65 vehicles and 7 aircraft of which 2 from Sweden and 2 from Germany as well as 8 helicopters of which 1 for aerial coordination have been allocated for aerial firefighting.

At the same time, strong forces of volunteer firefighters with foot units, forces that have been made available by the General Staff of National Defense, the Hellenic Police, as well as water tankers and work machines of the Attica Region are operating.

Speaking this morning to SKAI 100.3, the deputy mayor of Menidi, Stathis Topalidis, announced that three nursing homes with 150 people were evacuatedwhich have currently been moved to the town hall.