Greece's wildfires claim first fatality

The fires continuing to burn northeast of Greece's capital are keeping people on tenterhooks. On Tuesday morning, fire fighters found the body of a woman in a burned-out factory, according to Greek media reports. This is the only reported fatality so far.

Volunteers in Vrilissia, just north of Athens, are working together to support emergency services in extinguishing the fires. Pockets of embers lying dormant in the ground are particularly dangerous as they could spark a new fire at any time. In addition, the wind, which died down during the night, could pick up again and cause small fires to swell rapidly.

The melted taps of this bathroom sink in Halandri, a suburb of Athens, show the extreme heat of the wildfires. Power has been cut in many places after a number of wooden electricity pylons burned down or fell over. A forest considered one of the last important "green lungs" in Athens has also been burned.

People are desperately climbing onto house roofs in Vrilissia to get a better view of the situation. Some are wearing masks to help them breathe. The air is heavily polluted with officials warning that the smoke is reaching toxic levels.

Flames leap up the trees as people try to extinguish the flames. The entire area is now being monitored by the fire brigade and police. International aid is also arriving. After Greece activated the EU's civil protection mechanism, countries such as the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Serbia, Romania and Turkey pledged to help.

Flames are getting closer and closer to homes in the village of Varnavas, near Athens. Meteorologists and civil defense officials repeatedly warned over the weekend that due to extreme drought and strong winds around the Aegean Sea, the smallest fire could develop into a major blaze within minutes.

Spokesman Vassilios Vathrakogiannis said firefighters were fighting the flames all night, some more than 25 meters (80 feet) high. Nevertheless, the blaze spread quickly. Greek authorities ordered the evacuation of several villages northeast of Athens on Monday morning, including a children's hospital and a military hospital in Penteli.

Although flames were getting closer by the hour, many people in Dionysos were not prepared to give up their homes. Instead, they tried to extinguish the blaze themselves using garden hoses — in some cases, leading to arguments between residents and the emergency services.

By Sunday evening, firefighters had brought 33 of the 40 blazes that broke out within 24 hours under control, according to fire department spokesman Vathrakogiannis. However, seven fires were still burning as of Monday afternoon.

Tourists can usually enjoy an excellent view of the Parthenon in Athens from this vantage point. But today, the temple is hard to make out amid the billowing smoke. Temperatures aren't expected to drop in the coming days, with up to 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) expected on Monday.

More than 400 firefighters with 110 vehicles, 29 firefighting aircraft and helicopters have been deployed in the affected regions to fight the flames.

Southern Europe has increasingly struggled with extreme heat waves and forest fires in recent years, with tourists also feeling the effects. Some popular tourist sights have even had to close completely at times, with visitors at risk of extreme heat. Temperatures in the sun have hit up to 60 degrees Celsius (140 Fahrenheit) in some areas.