Over 180 firefighters, supported by 15 aircraft and 12 helicopters, battle fierce pine‑forest wildfire as residents flee in panic

A ferocious forest fire erupted yesterday afternoon near the mountainous pine woods surrounding Corinth, prompting emergency authorities to evacuate multiple villages under a barrage of ash and smoke. As a sizzling heatwave grips southern Europe, temperatures here soared to a blistering 40 °C, exacerbating the spreading inferno.

The blaze, which ignited near the village of Kastania around 15:15 EEST, rapidly consumed dry vegetation before spreading toward nearby hamlets, including Stymfalia and Kastania itself. ‘The village of Kastania is burning,’ declared Sikyona mayor Sypros Stamatopoulos on social media just hours after the flames broke out.

By evening, local authorities had ordered evacuations across at least six settlements as firefighting teams struggled to contain the front. The operation mobilised more than 180 firefighters, alongside 50 firetrucks, 15 fixed-wing aircraft, and 12 helicopters — deploying rapid aerial water drops to stem the flames.

The effort was complicated by the brutal heat gripping the region. A broader heatwave affecting the Balkans has already triggered work bans for outdoor laborers and temporary closures of landmarks—Athens’ famed Acropolis among them—while temperatures peaked near 43 °C in some areas.

Although no fatalities have yet been reported, the blaze poses a significant threat to both communities and infrastructure. Officials are racing to establish perimeter control before nightfall, when cooling winds may shift smoke and embers unpredictably, posing renewed risks.

‘People were escorted out swiftly,’ confirmed Dimitris Ptochos, governor of the Peloponnese. ‘It’s a difficult scenario with winds and scorched hillsides pushing the fire toward inhabited zones.’