ATHENS

The situation improved with the wildfire that has been raging in northeastern Athens since Sunday, Civil Protection and Climate Change Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Tuesday. 

About 40 hours after the fire broke out, there is presently no active front, only scattered hotspots, he said at a news conference.

Rejecting criticism by the opposition that the response was late, Kikilias argued that the first response to the fire came minutes after it was detected.

Strong winds, rugged topography and the fact that settlements were scattered, however, hampered efforts to control the fire and prevent it from reaching residential areas, according to Kikilias.

He said more than 700 firefighters and 27 teams of forest workers, assisted by nearly 200 different vehicles and 35 aerial vehicles as well as volunteers, army and police, are currently working to get the fire under control.

The ministry also announced a compensation package for those affected by the fire in northeastern Athens and in other parts of the country this summer.

Accordingly, the state will provide financial aid to owners of businesses, homes, agricultural land and animals whose goods or property were damaged or destroyed.

In a separate yet related development, the Greek Foreign Ministry thanked countries that sent assistance to combat the wildfires.

“Our sincere gratitude to France, Czech, Moldova, Romania, Malta, Italy, Türkiye, Serbia, Greek Cypriot administration, Poland and the EU for their assistance,” it wrote on X.​​​​​​​