The Greek forest fires

The flames are visible from Mount Parnitha. Thanassis Stavrakis / AP  

The great fire visible from Athens - "Fighting on all fronts"  

The forest fire outside Athens is now fully visible from the Greek capital, reports CNN Greece. A long band of flames has climbed Mount Parnitha, about two miles north of the city center. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the authorities decided on an evacuation of residents in the suburb of Ano Liosa, near the 1,400 meter high mountain. Tens of thousands of residents - closest to the mountain - are said to have been evacuated.  

In connection with that, all natural gas buses that had been parked in a bus depot there were also evacuated, according to CNN. 

- The country is once again being tested by the fire. The entire Greek state is fighting on all fronts, says Transport Minister Yannis Xiafaras on social media. 

At the same time, the forest fire outside Athens is not the only one going on in the country. According to AFP, Greek rescue teams are currently fighting around 60 forest fires that have occurred in the last 24 hours alone. 

Greek firefighter in an extinguishing operation near Alexandroupolis. Achilleas Chiras / AP 

Firefighter charged with arson - believed to have caused five fires  

A part-time firefighter in Greece has been arrested on suspicion of starting five fires, including the forest fire in Agia Irini, Kefalonia Press writes.  

The man is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.  

Two of the fires are said to have started this year, while the others are older.  

In the past 24 hours alone, some 60 fires have broken out in various places in Greece, writes AFP. Many of them grew into giant fires, within a short time, Yiannis Artiopiuos told state TV ERT. 

 - The situation is completely unique, the weather conditions are extreme.  

The situation is made worse by strong winds and temperatures above 40 degrees, writes AFP.  

Affected villagers near Avantas in northeastern Greece. Achilleas Chiras / AP 

Tens of thousands are evacuated from nearby suburbs  

Five large forest fires are currently raging in Greece - and one of them is approaching the outskirts of Athens, according to AFP.  

On Tuesday afternoon, the emergency services in Greece decided to begin the evacuation of parts of the suburb of Ano Liosa, a suburb of the Greek capital. 

Tens of thousands of residents are affected, according to the news agency.  

Ano Liosa is located a little over a mile north of the absolute center of Athens.  

According to Greek Kathimerini online edition, flames have already reached parts of the building. At the same time, there are no reports of relief. According to the weather report, temperatures are expected to be steadily above 40 degrees.  

- The weather conditions are extreme and will remain so for the coming days, says Vassilis Varhakogiannis to ERT TV, according to the newspaper Kathimerini.  

There are roughly 30,000 inhabitants in