UPDATE

Battle for the firebreaks in Western Attica, one active front in Kefalonia

Fire service crews, working alongside machinery from the Attica Region and municipal authorities, are focused on opening firebreaks in an effort to head off the fire front before Monday morning. Officials estimate that if ground crews make sufficient progress overnight, the mega-fire in Western Attica could be brought under control by first light.

Firebreaks are being cut to the east and north of Agios Nektarios using machinery from the army, the Attica Region and the Antinero contractors, working under the direction of the Forestry Service.

The fire in Western Attica remains in full swing, with one front at Agia Paraskevi, where firefighters are battling the flames at Kryo Pigadi, and a second front moving towards the Megara area, specifically towards the Kandili firing range. Homes have burned at Kryo Pigadi, while conditions have become extremely difficult in the Louba area outside Vilia. By around eight in the evening, the fire had encircled the settlement of Agios Nektarios.

A barrage of 112 emergency alerts was sent out on Sunday morning for Western Attica, covering the areas of Toutouli, Nea Dafni, Pefkeneas, Agios Sarantis, the Megara Industrial Zone, Kandili and Agia Skepi.

In total, 496 firefighters are operating across Attica and Boeotia, supported by 22 ground crew teams from the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 10th and 18th Special Firefighting Units (EMODE), volunteers, and 134 vehicles — including 23 firefighters with four vehicles from France and 23 firefighters with four vehicles from Romania, deployed in Greece as part of the European pre-positioning of firefighters.

Strong winds are hampering — and in some cases preventing — aerial firefighting operations in the area.

Two people have been arrested in connection with the major fire that broke out in Boeotia and spread into Attica.

The fire that broke out shortly before midnight in Pastra, Kefalonia, remains active. Fire crews are tackling one active front in the Alimmatas area, with scattered flare-ups around the rest of the perimeter. One person has been arrested on suspicion of arson.

There are no active fronts in the fires that broke out yesterday afternoon at Skaloma in Phocis and in Aigialeia, where crews are mainly dousing smouldering hotspots.

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Tragic irony in the Vilia fire: volunteer firefighter’s home burns down as he saves other people’s houses

Grigoris Schoizas is a volunteer forest firefighter. For three days, he and his team have saved dozens of homes from the fire in the Vilia area — only to learn that his own house had been reduced to ashes.

“Sadly, this is the tragic irony — we’re volunteers, we save other people’s homes and property, but yesterday no one was there to save mine. It was at the mercy of the fire, it burned without ever being wetted down, as we say. Sadly, all that’s left of the house are the outer walls,” he told Alpha.

220 rural and forest fires since Monday

From Monday 27 July to today, a total of 220 rural and forest fires have broken out across the country.

The Fire Service has had to deal with multiple simultaneous fronts on Paros, in Rethymno, Heraklion, Aigialeia, Phocis, Lesvos and Kalymnos, with substantial ground and aerial forces operating under extreme weather conditions.

Mayor of Mandra-Eidyllia: Battle to keep the fire away from settlements

The situation remains especially critical on the fire front in Western Attica, with fire crews battling to stop the blaze from entering the settlements of Agios Nektarios and Kryo Pigadi, according to the Mayor of Mandra-Eidyllia, Armodios Drikos.

He said the operation was unfolding “in an extremely difficult way”, with the main objective being to keep the fire outside the boundaries of the two settlements. The areas in question have been evacuated, with residents having already left since yesterday.

“We are trying to save the homes and structures of the settlement. Although aerial resources are operating, the fire has not yet been brought under control to the point where we can say the settlements have been saved,” the mayor told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, stressing that the situation remains extremely difficult.

Asked whether firefighting resources were sufficient, Mr Drikos said that all available assets — both ground and aerial — along with significant personnel, had been mobilised. However, he noted that true adequacy could only be judged by the outcome of the operation. “The fire service’s resources will be sufficient once the fire is out. As long as the fire isn’t out, the resources are not sufficient,” he said.

He added that the municipality was on full operational alert and was supporting the fire service with every available resource requested. Water tankers, heavy machinery, excavators and municipal staff are taking part in the operation, with volunteer teams also playing an active role.

Support is also being provided with supplies, the evacuation of residents at risk, first aid, and the collection of stray animals — all under the coordination and instructions of the Fire Service.

UPDATE

• The fire in Western Attica is in full swing, with one front at Agia Paraskevi, where firefighting forces are battling the flames at Kryo Pigadi, while the second front is moving towards the Megara area, specifically towards the Kandili firing range.
  
• A barrage of 112 evacuation alerts was sent out on Sunday morning for Western Attica, specifically for the areas of Toutouli, Nea Dafni, Peukeneas, Agios Sarantis, the Megara Industrial Area, Kandili and Agia Skepi.
  
• A total of 496 firefighters are operating in Attica and Boeotia, backed by 22 ground crew units from the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 10th and 18th Special Firefighting Forces (EMODE), volunteers and 134 vehicles – including 23 firefighters with 4 vehicles from France and 23 firefighters with 4 vehicles from Romania, who are in the country as part of the pre-positioning of European firefighters.
  
• Strong winds are hampering, and in some cases preventing, aircraft from flying over the area.
  

UPDATE

• The fire in Western Attica is in full swing, with flames advancing on one front towards Agios Nektarios–Agia Paraskevi and, further south, towards the firing range at Kandili, Megara.
  
• A string of 112 emergency alerts has been issued for evacuations across Western Attica, specifically for the areas of Toutouli, Nea Dafni, Pefkeneas, Agios Sarantis, the Megara Industrial Estate (VIPE), Kandili and Agia Skepi.
  
• In total, 496 firefighters are tackling the blazes across Attica and Boeotia, backed by 22 ground crews from the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 10th and 18th Special Forest Fire-fighting Units (EMODE), volunteers and 134 vehicles – including 23 firefighters with 4 vehicles from France and 23 firefighters with 4 vehicles from Romania, deployed in Greece as part of the European Pre-positioning of Firefighting Forces scheme.
  
• 18 helicopters are making periodic sorties over the Attica–Boeotia fire, though gale-force winds have kept fixed-wing aircraft grounded.

Mitsotakis visits Civil Protection’s Crisis Coordination Centre

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis travelled this morning to the Coordination Centre for Crisis Management and Response at the Civil Protection Ministry, accompanied by Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou, where he was briefed on the wildfires burning across the country, with particular focus on the blaze at Porto Germeno.

Officials noted that strong winds continue to batter the area, hampering aerial firefighting operations. Even today, turbulence is preventing aircraft from making water drops, meaning only helicopters remain in action. Ground forces have been substantially reinforced in the meantime, while Special Forest Fire-fighting Units have pushed into hard-to-reach terrain to continue operations there.

Following the briefing, discussions turned to anti-erosion works set to begin immediately in the fire-affected areas, as well as the recording of damage for state compensation purposes.

Fire breaks out in low vegetation at Stathaiika, Argos

A fire broke out on Sunday morning (2 August) in an area of low vegetation at Stathaiika, near Argos, prompting an immediate Fire Service response.

Forty-two firefighters were mobilised, along with one ground crew from the 9th Special Forest Fire-fighting Unit (EMODE), 9 vehicles and 2 aircraft.

Fthiotida: Fire at Kyparissonas, Pelasgia, now under control

UPDATE

Satellite image shows active fire fronts in Western Attica

The major forest fire in Western Attica remained active on Sunday (2/8) morning, according to the latest satellite data processed by the team at the National Observatory of Athens/meteo.gr.

The newest satellite hotspot detections show that during the night and early morning hours there was extensive activity in the area of Porto Germeno, east of Psatha, across the wider eastern and southeastern section of the already burnt area, as well as along the mountainous zone extending north of Megara.

The active satellite hotspot detections on Sunday morning are shown in yellow. The burnt area mapped between 30 July and Saturday, 1 August is shown in orange, while the burnt areas from previous months are shown in blue and green.

“Over 100,000 stremmas burnt in Attica and Boeotia”

Fire meteorologist Thodoris Giannaros describes the enormous scale of the destruction caused by the major wildfire in Boeotia and Attica in a post on social media.

He states that the latest data on the spread of the Agios Vasileios (Boeotia) fire shows it is very likely, if not almost certain, that the blaze will be classified as a megafire.

He also notes that, based on the hotspots detected up to dawn on Sunday, 2 August 2026, the area affected now exceeds 100,000 stremmas (roughly 10,000 hectares).

Improved picture of the fire in Aigialeia

The fire situation in Aigialeia has improved, though it remains active, according to the Fire Service.

At first light, two firefighting helicopters began water drops over the fire front, while strong ground forces continue to battle the flames.

Around 100 firefighters are currently operating in the area, supported by four ground crew teams and 30 vehicles, while fire crews managed to keep the blaze away from residential areas throughout the night.

Firefighters battled through the night to stop Greece’s Porto Germeno mega fire reaching Megara, as a fresh blaze forced evacuations on Kefalonia and crews also fought flames in Fokida

More than 66,000 stremmata (around 6,600 hectares) of forest and farmland have been reduced to ash by a mega fire raging across the wider Porto Germeno area and Boeotia, western Attica.

Settlements on Kefalonia were evacuated overnight after a fire broke out in the Pastra area. Greece’s 112 emergency alert system ordered residents of Kateleios, Markopoulo and Kremmydi to head towards the island’s capital, Argostoli. Authorities later triggered a further 112 alert, telling residents of Chionata, Thiramonas and Mavrata, in the Kefalonia regional unit, to leave immediately for Argostoli as the fire developed.

The Attica region, along with the Boeotia and Evia regional units of Central Greece, remain on Red Code alert, the country’s highest wildfire risk warning.

The large Porto Germeno fire is currently burning fiercely at Veniza, around five kilometres from Megara. Residents of Psatha have been moved to Alepochori and Megara. Helicopters began operating over western Attica at around 6:30am.

Dozens of homes have been destroyed around Porto Germeno, with early estimates putting the number at more than 100. Explosions continue to be heard in the Veniza area, where the fire is burning close to the Megara military firing range.

A huge firefighting operation is underway, with 496 firefighters and 22 ground crews from the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 10th and 18th EMODE (Greece’s Special Disaster Response Units), together with volunteers and 134 vehicles, deployed across Attica and Boeotia.

They are being reinforced by 23 firefighters and four vehicles from France and a further 23 firefighters and four vehicles from Romania, part of a pre-positioning of European firefighting crews in Greece.

Water tankers and heavy machinery have also been supplied by the Attica and Central Greece regional authorities, with support from the Deukalion disaster response team, the Directorate for Construction and Natural Disaster Response, the Hellenic Police (ELAS), the National Centre for Emergency Care (EKAB), and buses from the Fire Service and the armed forces to help move residents.

The fiercest fighting overnight was concentrated at Porto Germeno, where the fire has split into two dangerous fronts. The eastern front stretches from Kryo Pigadi, Agia Paraskevi and Agios Nektarios towards Vilia, while the southern front is moving through Porto Germeno, Psatha and Veniza, the area of greatest concern, with firefighters focused on preventing it from reaching Megara.

Ground crews are concentrated mainly on the southern front, trying to keep the fire away from Psatha and the Veniza settlement, while a separate battle is under way at Agios Nektarios to stop the flames reaching Vilia. A series of 112 alerts have been issued ordering residents out of Alepochori, Psatha, Veniza, Loumpa, Zachouli, Agia Paraskevi, Kryo Pigadi and Agios Nektarios.

Separately, 11 people have been arrested on suspicion of starting fires in Argolida, Ilia, Serres, Attica and Lesvos. Fire Service investigators found that the major blaze at Fichti, near Argos and Mycenae, was sparked during agricultural work, when a tractor fitted with a mulcher threw off sparks. A 57 year old man and a 53 year old woman were arrested at the scene.

A fire also continues to burn at Skoloma in Fokida, where 64 firefighters, including two teams from the 6th EMODE, and 15 vehicles are deployed. The 112 system has ordered evacuations in the settlements of Klima, Pigi, Koukoura, Nea Koukoura, Magoula, Pefkaki and Efpalio.