Where are the fires in Greece? Map shows wildfires as tourists evacuated from Kefalonia and Crete

FIREFIGHTERS are battling raging wildfires across Greece, with the largest burning west of Athens for a fourth day and fresh evacuations ordered in the early hours of this morning. Two helicopter crew members were tragically killed on Sunday when their aircraft collided in mid-air above the blazes. Two helicopters collided near Psatha, west of Athens, after taking off from the Elefsina military airport Credit: Credit: X/WeatherMonitors The biggest of the current fires started on Friday morning in Boeotia, northwest of Athens Credit: AFP Where are the wildfires in Greece? Greece has been fighting wildfires on multiple fronts since Wednesday, July 29, when blazes on Crete and Paros forced mass evacuations and killed three firefighters. The largest currently burning started on the morning of Friday, July 31, in the Boeotia region, north-west of Athens, and has since spread south into western Attica. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! It has gutted homes and burnt through farmland and pine forest, forcing emergency evacuations by land and sea. Twenty-one aircraft were working near the communities of Kandili and Agia Skepi in the early hours of this morning as thick black smoke rose over the pine forests of Mount Kithaironas. Around 450 firefighters and 126 vehicles were deployed, including French and Romanian crews already stationed in Greece under an EU scheme. Agia Skepi, Kandili and Botsika have been evacuated. Emergency 112 alerts went out yesterday for Toutouli, Nea Dafni, Pefkeneas, Agios Sarantis, and the Megara industrial zone. On Kefalonia, a fire that broke out shortly before midnight on Saturday near the village of Pastra forced evacuations from inland communities in the southeast of the island. Most read in The Sun A man has been arrested on suspicion of starting it. Crews were also tackling a separate blaze near Nea Tenedos in Chalkidiki. Around 8,000 people including Brit holidaymakers were evacuated on Crete late on Wednesday, July 29. Attica, Boeotia and Evia were all placed in the second highest fire risk category – category four – for Monday. How did the Greece wildfires start? Greece‘s fire service said on Sunday the Boeotia blaze appears to have been sparked by a faulty power line carrying electricity from a private wind generator facility to the national grid. An electrical engineer who designed and oversaw the power project and a contractor who worked on the transmission network have been arrested, and both face felony arson charges. An arrest warrant has also been issued for the owner of the wind generator company. Five people have died in Greek fires over the past week, with two firefighters killed in Crete, and a third in the Peloponnese. The two pilots who died on Sunday were a Danish pilot and a Greek fire service liaison officer, whose helicopter collided with another near Psatha. A British pilot and a Greek coordinator in the second aircraft survived with minor injuries. Is it safe to travel to Greece? The Foreign Office has not advised against travel to Greece. It says: “There is a high risk of wildfires during the summer season from April to October. “Ensure that your mobile phone is registered to receive emergency alerts to warn you of wildfires near your location.” While GOV.UK advises: “Wildfires are highly dangerous and unpredictable. The situation can change quickly.” Attica, Boeotia and Evia were all placed in the second highest fire risk category for Monday, August 3. Comment now