Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus has told Greek authorities it is ready to provide any assistance requested as wildfires continue in western Attica, Fire Service chief Nikos Longinos said on Monday.
Longinos said Cyprus had offered to send its aircraft but was awaiting a response from Greece, adding that larger aircraft were needed because of the scale of the fires.
Cyprus offer
“Things are not easy,” Longinos told the Cyprus News Agency. He said strong winds were continuously spreading the fire, changing its direction and creating new hotspots.
He said Cyprus could send small firefighting vehicles at short notice, but these would not be particularly useful in the current circumstances.
“We are in constant contact with Greece, and we are at their disposal for whatever they want,” he said.
Fires in western Attica
Wildfires continued to burn in western Attica on Monday, with firefighters operating across an area stretching almost from the Gulf of Corinth to the Gulf of Elefsina.
Fires also broke out in Kilkis, between Thessaloniki and the North Macedonian border, and on the Ionian island of Kefalonia.
Situation in Megara
Megara mayor Panagiotis Margetis said on Monday afternoon that those battling the fire were mildly optimistic about its course, citing lower winds than in previous days and the effectiveness of aerial firefighting resources in the morning.
He said he hoped conditions would become more manageable in the coming hours.
However, fires were reigniting elsewhere in the region. Greek firefighters’ association chairman Kostas Tsigas said the villages of Ayios Nektarios and Kryo Pigadi, inland from the Gulf of Corinth, were the most threatened.
“We will be there throughout the day, with the assistance of aerial means,” he told Greek public broadcaster ERT.
