A major firefighting operation was underway Monday in the Koubara area of eastern Attica after a wildfire broke out in low vegetation and spread amid strong winds, authorities said.
An emergency alert was issued at 8.30 a.m., urging residents in and around the Agios Stylianos settlement to evacuate toward Kalyvia Thorikou.
Livestock facilities and vehicles were damaged by the flames, while police were deployed to assist with the evacuation of residents and facilitate firefighting operations.
Traffic was also halted on Lavriou Avenue toward Markopoulo, from its junction with Agios Stylianos Street.
Firefighting forces were being reinforced, with 197 firefighters, seven specialist forest-firefighting teams and 42 vehicles involved in the operation. The deployment included 23 firefighters and four vehicles each from France and Romania, sent to Greece under a European program that stations foreign firefighting teams in countries at high risk of wildfires during the fire season.
