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Greece Gains Ground Against Wildfires West of Athens

Easing winds have allowed aircraft alongside over 500 firefighters to strengthen containment, enabling probes into a suspected faulty power line.

Overview

  • Authorities pushed containment on Tuesday as winds eased, redeploying more than 30 aircraft and over 500 firefighters to attack hotspots on multiple fronts northwest of Athens.
  • The blazes have already gutted homes and scorched thousands of hectares, with Copernicus and Greek officials estimating the main Porto Germeno/Psatha complex has burned at least 12,000–13,000 hectares.
  • Five firefighters have died since late July, including two crew killed in a mid‑air collision between two Bell firefighting helicopters, and Bell operations are under review pending investigations.
  • Police have arrested and detained people linked to recent fires, and investigators are probing a suspected faulty wind‑farm transmission cable that may have ignited one of the main blazes.
  • Local relief continues as residents return to damaged properties and volunteers shelter more than 110 rescued dogs at Megara stadium, while forecasters warn returning heat and gusts could trigger flare‑ups.