A man lost his life in Greece on Friday due to widespread fires fueled by strong winds.
More than 200 firefighters, supported by 11 planes and seven helicopters, are fighting the fires in Keratea, southeast of Athens, Kostas Tsigkas, head of the Greek firefighting service, told state television ERT.
He said residents in several settlements have been evacuated due to “large fires” caused by strong winds.
Firefighters found the body of an elderly man inside his burned home in Keratea, while strong winds are making it difficult for tanker planes to operate, said Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, spokesman for the firefighting service, during a press conference, according to REL.
An AFP reporter in the nearby town of Palaia Fokaia, about 45 kilometers south of Athens, saw a house engulfed in flames with thick smoke above it.
Earlier, another fire on the island of Kefalonia was brought under control, local authorities said, while the situation “has improved” on the Peloponnese peninsula, west of Athens, Vathrakogiannis reported.
The Civil Protection Ministry had announced winds reaching up to 88 kilometers per hour, especially in the Southern Aegean and the Sea of Crete.
The National Meteorological Service (EMY) said the winds would weaken after midnight, but the Civil Protection Ministry placed several areas on the highest fire alert level for Saturday, including the Attica region, where Athens is located.
Greece and other Mediterranean countries lie in a zone scientists call a “fire hotspot” due to frequent fires during hot, dry summers.
Southern France, parched by drought, is currently facing the largest fire in decades.
Experts say human-caused climate change is leading to more frequent and intense fires and other natural disasters.
