Greeks survey damage left by fires near Athens

Greek officials and residents of a region west of the capital Athens on August 5, 2026, began to assess the damage suffered by homes, businesses and farmland scorched by a wildfire. (AFP)

Greek officials and residents of a region west of the capital Athens Wednesday began to assess the damage suffered by homes, businesses and farmland scorched by a wildfire. According to his office, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a cabinet meeting Wednesday to determine compensation for fire-striken victims and to ascertain environmental damage.

Meanwhile, teams from the Environment and Civil Protection ministries arrived to assess communities about 50 km northwest of Athens, where residents have been returning after preventive evacuations, public broadcaster Ertnews reported.

The blaze blackened more than 14,000 hectares in just five days but “the situation in the region is much better”, fire services spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyannis told AFP Wednesday. “Firefighters remain on maximum alert to deal with areas where there is still smoke.”

According to an initial investigation by the fire service, the blaze started on Friday with a spark on power cables managed by a private company in Agios Vasileios, a seaside village at the foot of a mountain 85 km northwest of Athens.

The smell of smoke was still present around the resort of Porto Germeno, a seaside resort where a large part of formerly forested land has been devoured by the flames and dozens of houses have burnt down, AFP reporters observed.

Fanned by wind gusts of up to 130 km per hour, the fire quickly spread towards the southern slopes of Mount Kithairon and reached Megara, an industrial and agricultural town 40 km from Athens. Following devastating fires in Spain and France, Greek authorities have been fighting since the end of July against dozens of fires across the country that have killed five people, including three firefighters and the two members of the crew of a helicopter that was battling the flames.