Wildfires burned for a third day west of the Greek capital Athens on Wednesday, as authorities braced for a new heatwave stoking tinderbox conditions across the country.
At first light, air water bombers resumed operations over the towns of Mandra, west of Athens, and Loutraki, close to the Corinth canal which separates mainland Greece from the Peloponnese. Firefighters worked throughout the night to keep flames at bay and away from a complex of coastal refineries.The fire brigade reported that a third fire had broken out on the island of Rhodes.
The fire risk hazard was high throughout the country. "We remain on a level of high alert," said fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis. "Conditions are extreme, and are likely to be so for another week," Kostas Tsigas, head of the fire brigade officers association, told Greece's SKAI TV. Not everyone went willingly. Footage released by Greek police showed officers imploring a reluctant group of nuns chanting hymns to evacuate a convent, and another of police screaming "lets go" as towering flames closed in at a timber yard.
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