Greece heatwave: Farmer sets animals free as wildfire races toward farm
Senior international correspondent John Irvine reports from the outskirts of Athens, as firefighters and a farmer battle to save the land from a powerful wildfire
In the forests north and west of Athens, a fierce and relentless battle is unfolding as wildfires threatened homes, lives, and livelihoods.
Where the blazes aren't threatening life or property, emergency services didn't bother intervening. But, that is due to them being too busy battling the fires that do pose such a threat.
The ITV News team in Athens got to witness one such fire bearing down on a farmyard.
Its advance was rapid and the fire service were on the scene in force, anticipating the property being in harm's way.
As fire crews fought the blaze on the ground, a quartet of aircraft repeatedly water bombed the fire from above. Time and again the pilots swooped in as low as they dared. But as the planes headed towards a lake to take on more water the flames kept rising up again, the emergency teams were struggling to keep them at bay.
At one point the farmer was sufficiently worried to set his horses and a donkey free. We watched the aircraft carry out more than twenty water drops, but as sure as they returned to too did the flames and for two hours it was touch and go. But eventually the local fire chief felt able to leave the scene confident this was a battle won.
The great effort that went in to saving this single property shows how easily the emergency services could be overwhelmed if the fires become more common and widespread.
What is the situation across the rest of Greece?
Firefighting aircraft and ground crews from other countries have headed to Greece to help battle wildfires that have intensified as a heatwave baked much of southern Europe in temperatures above 40C.
New evacuations were ordered on Wednesday as wildfires raged near Athens.
In a round-the-clock battle to preserve forests, industrial facilities and vacation homes, evacuations continued for a third day along a highway connecting the capital to the southern city of Corinth.
Southern Europe's second heat wave in as many weeks has brought extreme temperatures to Mediterranean countries.
Temperatures in southern Greece are expected to reach 44 C by the end of the week.
The World Meteorological Organization, a United Nations body, said preliminary global figures showed last month was the hottest June on record.
Firefighters are being sent to Greece as part of a European Union civil protection mechanism that includes the planned deployment of international crews to parts of southern Europe over the summer.
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