Greece wildfires: People evacuated from their homes and firefighters injured and hospitalised as fires caused by 44C heatwave rage on

Residents of Kryoneri, 12.5 miles northeast of Athens, received three SMS messages yesterday evening asking them to evacuate to safe areas, fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyannis told local reporters.

Greek media have shown houses on fire. The spokesman said “there have been reports of damage. We will take stock when the fires have been put out”. “The real difficulties are ahead of us,” Mr Vathrakoyannis said, adding that Greece has asked for six firefighting planes from the European Union’s civil protection mechanism.

On the site, 145 firefighters and 44 fire engines, 10 firefighting planes and seven helicopters attempted to put out the fire, the origin of which is unknown. Four ambulances treated at least five people, most of them elderly, for respiratory problems.

Temperatures reaching 44C, dry conditions and high winds are fanning the flames. Under such conditions wildfires “expand very quickly and become dangerous. These conditions are expected to prevail over the coming days”, Mr Vathrakoyannis said.

The fire service was also last night dealing with three other major fires in the southwest on Greece’s two largest islands, Crete in the south and Evia north of Athens, and also on the island of Kythera, northwest of Crete. At least 335 firefighters, 19 planes and 13 helicopters were involved.

In one of the most serious incidents, a fire near the village of Drosopigi, close to Athens, the Greek capital, burnt two houses, forcing residents to flee. At least five people were taken to hospital for treatment of burns and smoke inhalation.

On the island of Evia, officials said a second blaze near Pissona had got “out of control”, moving quickly towards Afrati. Several villages, including Pournos and Mistros, were left without electricity after flames destroyed pylons and power lines. Six firefighters were taken to hospital with burns and smoke inhalation as 115 more fire personnel continued to battle the flames.

Officials said several regions remained under further fire threats, including the Ionian Islands, western Greece, the Peloponnese, central Greece, Attica, Epirus, western Macedonia (Florina, Kastoria, Kozani), eastern Macedonia and Thrace (Evros), Thessaly (Magnesia, Larisa, Trikala), the south Aegean (Rhodes) and Crete. Mr Vathrakoyannis added: “Today is expected to be a difficult day with a very high risk of fire, almost throughout the territory.”

52 wildfires broke out across the country over the past 24 hours, the country’s fire service spokesman said. Wildfires, many of them destructive, have become a common occurrence in Greece in recent years. Several have broken out in the past month.

Greece is experiencing a severe heatwave and the extreme temperatures are expected to persist through the weekend. Officials in the country have requested emergency support, through the EU Civil Protection mechanism, asking for six firefighting aircraft to join local forces. Teams from Italy and the Czech Republic were expected to arrive later today to bring aid.