A new wildfire broke out Monday morning in Kouvaras, southeast of Athens, driven by winds exceeding 70 km/h, prompting civil protection authorities to order the evacuation of the nearby village of Agios Stylianos. At least 172 firefighters and roughly 40 vehicles were deployed to the Attica region, supported by two water-bombing aircraft and four helicopters.
It is the second major fire near the Greek capital this summer, following a blaze ten days earlier to the northwest that destroyed more than 11,000 hectares of pine forest, scrubland and farmland. That fire took five days to contain amid gusts up to 130 km/h, and two helicopter crew members died in a mid-air collision while battling the flames.
Several regions remain at very high fire risk heading into the weekend. Between 2017 and 2026, 15 large fires have burned 42% of Attica's total forested area, a figure that reaches 64% in western Attica.