Pictures show the devastation caused by the fires in Attica

Charred trees, burned-out cars and the skeletons of what used to be a home. In 24 hours, the fires, which broke out on Sunday, swept through thousands of hectares.

A satellite image from the European Union's Copernicus Earth observation programme on Monday showed a scorched area of ​​10,000 hectares just kilometres outside the Greek capital, Athens.

The fires near Athens prompted authorities to issue evacuation orders in several suburbs of the city, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes.

Sakis Morpheus, 70, lives in the suburb of Vrilissia and lost his home to the fire.

– When I left home, the only thing that mattered to me was saving my dogs, so I left everything behind: money, possessions, everything.

In the municipality of Marathon, the city of the same name northeast of Athens, about 30,000 people were ordered to leave.

At least one person is said to have died as a result of the wildfires, and several firefighters are said to have been injured.

No longer an active front

But the fires that broke out on Sunday and Monday were less active on Tuesday, Greek Environment Minister Vassilis Kikilias announced on the 10th.

He wrote: “After 40 hours of the very serious fire in Varnavas, we can say that there is no longer an active front, but rather scattered outbreaks.”

The Associated Press reported that strong winds that fanned the fires during the day subsided Tuesday night, allowing firefighters to stop battling a persistent fire front. But it is still burning in hundreds of places, the news agency wrote, and efforts are now underway to extinguish less widespread outbreaks.

However, winds are expected to pick up again on Tuesday afternoon.

Hundreds Fight Fires

Nearly 700 firefighters, hundreds of vehicles, 35 firefighting planes and helicopters were involved in the firefighting efforts, and several countries announced on Monday that they would send assistance to Greece to fight the fires.

Turkey, France, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic have announced they will send aid to Greece. CNN Greece writes that all are sending planes and helicopters, while the Czech Republic is also helping with 75 firefighters.

break the heat record

Vassilis Kikilias announced on Saturday that the risk of fires is very high in half of Greece due to drought and strong winds.

Greece is currently experiencing one of the hottest summers in a very long time. During June and July this year, heat records were broken.

See more in the video above what it looks like after the fires.