Gale-force winds that had driven the Porto Germeno fire eased on Sunday. The flames then crossed a mountain ridge toward Veniza. Relief and spread arrived in the same weather shift. [1]

India Today put the blaze about 60 kilometres northwest of Athens on the Gulf of Corinth. More than 100 homes were gone. After the winds subsided, the fire moved on Veniza and a military firing range. Crews tried to keep it off Megara, a coastal town of about 30,000. [1]

RFI reported water-bombers back in the air Monday after gusts of 80 to 130 kilometres an hour had grounded them around the evacuated resort. Nine aircraft and nine helicopters supported about 450 firefighters on fronts at Psatha, Kryo Pigadi, and Kandyli. Fire risk around Attica stayed at four on a five-point scale. [2]

Investigators have pointed to sparks from a private power line tied to wind turbines as a possible start, with the fire moving from Boeotia into Attica. [1]

The Porto Germeno update is a geometry lesson. When wind drops, aircraft return. When aircraft return, the fire has already taken the ridge.

Deputy civil-protection minister Kostas Katsafados told ERT the fight was uneven. More than 12,000 hectares have burned nationwide in a week, according to Copernicus-based tallies cited by RFI. [2]

-- DARA OSEI, London