Residents of a southern suburb of Athens returned to their homes on Sunday after firefighters managed to control a wildfire that forced them to flee the day before, the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/travel/news/2022/05/12/greece-is-open-and-its-covid-19-rules-belong-to-the-past-tourists-told/" target="_blank">Greek</a> emergency services said on Sunday. "At this point, the fire has been demarcated; the residents are back in their houses," said deputy civil protection minister, Evangelos Tournas. A substantial number of firefighters remained in the area "and will remain as long as it is needed, while aircraft will continue dropping water protectively," he said. More than 280 firefighters in 65 vehicles, with the help of groups of bystanders, battled overnight to bring the fire under control. Two firefighting planes and two helicopters were still flying early on Sunday. Although the fire is under control, with no burning spots, the authorities said they remain on high alert in case it breaks out again. On Saturday, the Greek Civil Protection agency issued an emergency appeal by text message for people to leave the suburb of Ano Voula. Officials reported no casualties, but four more neighbourhoods were evacuated as the wind changed direction and drove the fire front towards the town of Vari later on Saturday evening. Giorgos Papanikolaou, the mayor of Glyfada, where the fire first broke out, said that it started at a high-voltage electricity power station. Last summer, Greece's most severe heatwave in decades, which the authorities blamed on climate change, led to fires that destroyed more than 100,000 hectares of forest and farmland. It was the country's worst wildfire damage since 2007. More than 200 firefighters and technical equipment provided by other European countries will be soon sent to Greece to help boost the battle against large wildfires. Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Romania and Norway will take part in the deployment, co-ordinated by the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism.
