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Twin Wildfires on Salamina Kill Two and Evacuate Hundreds

Extreme heat, gusty winds, dry vegetation sent fast-moving flames into beach and residential areas, testing Greece's firefighting capacity.

Overview

  • Two people were found dead and officials recovered their bodies in the Peristeria area after two separate fires erupted on Salamina on Sunday.
  • Coastguard and private vessels evacuated roughly 500–570 people from beaches and coastal zones while authorities issued successive evacuation orders for Kolones and Saterli.
  • Fire crews deployed about 200–260 firefighters with nearly 50–60 engines, multiple aircraft and several helicopters to fight the twin blazes and reported one front largely under control by evening.
  • Several homes were damaged or burned and at least nine to ten people sought medical care for burns or smoke inhalation, with multiple patients taken to local hospitals.
  • The Salamina fires came during a week of extreme heat and drought that have made vegetation tinder-dry, strained national firefighting resources and coincided with a largely contained blaze on Skyros and ongoing probes into other recent infernos.