Fires prompt evacuation orders near two central Greek cities

Agence France-Presse

Fire evacuation orders were issued Wednesday for the outskirts of two major Greek cities – Volos and Lamia – where a new front broke out amid intense heat.

The official account of the 112 emergency line said the fire was near the industrial center of Volos, a city of some 85,000 people, while another burned outside Lamia, with a population of 60,000.

“Today is the most difficult day of the summer,” fire department spokesman Ioannis Artopios told reporters in Athens, noting that crews were battling 90 fires Wednesday, of which 61 had broken out in the last 24 hours.

Evacuation orders have been issued for five villages and communities near Volos, and three more in outer Lamia, Artopios said.

Thessaly governor Costas Agorastos had earlier told state TV ERT: “It’s a very difficult fire as there are many fronts. There a northwestern hot wind, very dangerous for fires. If it does not die down we will have major problems.”
-ag