A total of 64 fires broke out in mixed farm and forest land in the last 24 hours, with 46 of them controlled from the very start, the Fire Brigade said in a briefing earlier on Friday.
A volunteer firefighter from the village of Myrtia near Pyrgos who was helping firefighting efforts in Alpochori, Ilia, died and a firefighter who had been exposed to the fire in Ilia was taken to hospital and released after receiving first aid.
Deputy Citizen Protection Minister Andreas Nikolakopoulos and Deputy Chief of the Fire Brigade Lt General Nikos Roumeliotis were present during an emergency coordination meeting on Friday night, at Simopoulo in Ilia.
In an update later on Friday, the Fire Brigade said the toughest fires were those in Mastrandoni (Achaia), Kranidi (Argolid), and Alpochori.
In particular, Fire Brigade spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said in an update on Friday night that the wildfire that broke out midday on Friday at a semi-forested area in Mastrandoni of northern Peloponnesse continues to spread toward the prefecture of Ilia in the west. The fire involved 120 firefighters and 4 ground teams, with 43 fire trucks, and 19 aircraft (airplanes and helicopters) operating until nightfall. He also said the volunteers and local earth-moving machinery and water trucks also assisted.
The fire in Kranidi broke out around 15:25 and involved 48 firefighters, 21 fire trucks, and 6 helicopters. The fire spread close to homes due to the gale-force winds in the area, while a message through the 112 emergency service called on residents to evacuate, heading toward Porto Heli and Ermioni.
The fire in Alphochori that broke out around 17:00 involved 50 firefighters, 1 ground team, 19 fire trucks, 8 aircraft and 3 helicopters.
"The picture is much improved at this time in terms of the dangerous fires that spread very fast with winds that in some cases exceeded 120 km/hr and spread to communities" at Megalopoli (Arkadia), Lyrkia (Argolid), Cephalonia, Neochori (Messinia), Rigani (Agrinio), Kranidi and Alpochori, Vathrakogiannis said.
In these towns, he said, the Fire Brigade, Civil Protection, and volunteers fought to restrict them and are now facing only spread out pockets of fire.
Earlier in the day, Vathrakogiannis said that the wildfire that broke out on Friday afternoon in a mixed agricultural and forested area in Mavro Lithari, Attica and led to the temporary shutdown of the Athens-Sounion road, was placed under control two hours after it broke out.
In the case of Mavro Lithari, a message to the residents of Saronida throught the emergency number 112 had warned them to be on standby because of a forest fire in their area and instructing those who are in the Mavro Lithari area in Anavyssos to evacuate in the direction of Glyfada. The fire started near houses.
Vathrakogiannis said that a total of 45 fires broke out within a few hours in Greece on Friday. "In several cases, wind velocity exceeds 95 km/hr, which hinders the approach by air, and our pilots are expending every possible effort to approach the fire fronts safely," he added.
Evacuations
Dozens of villages have meanwhile been directed to evacuate, with residents warned through the emergency system of 112.
In Achaia (northern Peloponnese), evacuations included the region of Mazaraki, and in Ilia (NW Peloponnese) they included Prodromos, Simopoulos, Skliva, Vouliagmenti, Kalo Pedi.
All evacuees directed to the city of Patras will be housed centers near the Xystri Park and the Aghia Varvara Sports Center, by order of Pyrgos Mayor Stathis Kannis who also gave the order of evacuation in several of the above villages. The town has also cancelled all events.
In Central Greece, the fire fronts in Thebes were restricted and firefighters tried to place them under control, among others. Two fires in particular that were put out started within minutes of each other in an agricultural region in Thiva, burning dry grass and posing a threat to nearby businesses and factories.
In Goulemi (Fthiotida), and despite strong winds, firefighters and volunteers tried to stop the fire's progression while farmers created fire lanes in the fields with their machinery.
In Panagia Pountas, part of the Kymi-Aliveri Municipality on Evia island, an excavating machine fell in a ravine and caught on fire, for unknown reasons. The driver is safe, but the fire spread in a hard to access area.
Hospitals on alert
Later on Friday, the hospitals in the cites of Patras, Pyrgos, and the Argolid were placed on high alert by the Peloponnese health authorities.
Roads shut, reopened
Traffic was restored in a section of the new Patras-Pyrgos national road, near Chanakia and Douneika communities, because of a fire burning in Alpochori on Friday afternoon. The two villages of Chanakia and Douneika of the Northwestern Peloponnese have been evacuated with an emergency message through 112, and residents have been asked to head toward the city of Pyrgos.
At the Mavro Lithari area in Anavyssos, where a fire led to the shutdown of a section of the Athens-Sounion road, traffic was also restored.