Crews battle scattered fires in Athens suburbs, helped by calmer winds and reinforcements

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Firefighters in Greece battled scattered fires on Tuesday in hopes of containing the remains of a major wildfire that burned into the northern suburbs of Athens, triggering multiple evacuations and leaving at least one person dead.

With strong winds that had fanned the flames on Sunday and Monday dying down overnight, the fire department said the fire no longer had any active, advancing fronts and firefighters focused on extinguishing hundreds of slow-burning areas. Reinforcements of water-dropping aircraft and firefighters were arriving from abroad after Greece requested assistance from Europe’s joint disaster response mechanism.

Dozens of homes and businesses were reported to have burned, although authorities did not yet have an exact number. Winds strengthened again Tuesday afternoon, but no new major flare-ups were reported.

The European Union's Copernicus Emergency Management Service, which provides mapping services for natural disasters using satellite images, said that by Monday the blaze had burned 8,500 hectares (21,000 acres, 85 square kilometers).

Helicopters, planes and hundreds of firefighters and vehicles were arriving from France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Serbia and Romania. Turkey's Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said two firefighting planes and one helicopter had taken off Tuesday morning headed to Greece.

"I wish all the best to our colleagues who work with the motto ‘Forests are the world’s common heritage,’” Yumakli posted on the social media platform X.

Relations between neighbors Greece and Turkey are frequently tense over territorial disputes, but they tend to put differences aside and send each other help when faced with natural disasters such as earthquakes and forest fires.

Several other Balkan countries also struggled with wildfires. Water-dropping planes and helicopters from Cyprus, Germany and Slovenia were helping North Macedonia tackle blazes that have been burning for weeks, while Bosnian firefighters and local authorities appealed for international help to tackle fires raging in a national park in the east of the country.

The Athens blaze began Sunday afternoon near Lake Marathon, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of the city, and coursed across Mount Pendeli, descending into the city's suburbs.

Firefighters found the burned body of a woman in an industrial building in the suburb of Vrilissia just after midnight. The woman, an employee of the business, was believed to have become trapped inside the building.

More than a dozen people were treated by paramedics, mostly for smoke inhalation, while five firefighters suffered light burns and breathing problems, the fire department said.

Three hospitals, including a children’s hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated on Monday, while about 30 push alerts were sent to cell phones warning people in several Athens suburbs and outlying settlements to flee.

Authorities said some people who refused to leave their homes later became trapped and required rescuing, endangering the lives of firefighters. The affected areas — at the closest, some 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the heart of Athens — typically have thousands of residents. However, it was unclear how many were away on vacation at the height of the summer season, and how many had obeyed the evacuation orders or stayed to fight the blaze.

Ten water-dropping planes and 10 helicopters were fighting the remaining flames Tuesday, backing up hundreds of firefighters on the ground, the fire department said.

Earlier in the week, the fire reached heights of about 25 meters (80 feet). It raced through pine forests left tinder-dry by repeated heat waves this summer. June and July were the hottest months ever recorded in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter ever. An early start of the fire season this year has strained Greece’s firefighting force.

“Firefighters have been working at full tilt for months,” said Nikos Lavranos, head of Greece’s main firefighters’ union. “They are exhausted.”

Meteorologists warned of the increased danger of wildfires because of weather conditions from Sunday until Thursday, and dozens of other wildfires also broke out in several parts of Greece on Monday.

The fire department said two teenagers were arrested Monday on suspicion of arson for allegedly deliberately setting a fire in the southern Athens suburb of Glyfada while firefighters battled the blaze in the north of the city. The Glyfada fire was quickly extinguished.

Wildfires are frequent in the Mediterranean country during its hot, dry summers, but authorities have said climate change is fueling bigger and more frequent blazes.

In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee in their cars. More than 100 people died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.

Last year, wildfires in Greece killed more than 20 people, including 18 migrants who became trapped by flames as they trekked through a forest in northeastern Greece and were caught by a massive blaze that burned for more than two weeks.

A view of a burned warehouse in Nea Penteli suburb of Athens, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, following a major wildfire that has burned into the northern suburbs of the Greek capital. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

A burned roadside shrine stands in Nea Penteli suburb of Athens, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, following a major wildfire that has burned into the northern suburbs of the Greek capital. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

A burned book and debris inside a damaged factory covers the ground in Chalandri suburb of Athens, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, following a major wildfire that has burned into the northern suburbs of the Greek capital. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

A charred vehicle and homes lie in ruins after a wildfire swept through the suburb of Nea Penteli in Athens, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

A burned house is seen in Nea Penteli suburb of Athens, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, following a major wildfire that has burned into the northern suburbs of the Greek capital. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

Firefighter Konstantinos Katsiadas 45 spays water in a damaged house in Nea Penteli suburb of Athens, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, following a major wildfire that has burned into the northern suburbs of the Greek capital. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

Burned cars are parked outside a damaged house in Chalandri, suburb of Athens, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, following a major wildfire that has burned into the northern suburbs of the Greek capital, triggered multiple evacuations. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

A burned house is seen in Chalandri, suburb of Athens, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, following a major wildfire that has burned into the northern suburbs of the Greek capital, triggered multiple evacuations. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

A damaged gym is seen in Nea Penteli, suburb of Athens, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, following a major wildfire that has burned into the northern suburbs of the Greek capital, triggered multiple evacuations. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

Flowers are placed inside a damaged factory where one person was found dead, in Chalandri, suburb of Athens, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, following a major wildfire that has burned into the northern suburbs of the Greek capital, triggered multiple evacuations. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

This satellite image shows smoke rising from wildfires in East Attica, some 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of Athens, which burned into the northern suburbs of Athens, triggering evacuations and leaving at least one person dead, on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

A general view of the of Athens with the Acropolis hill as fire burns the northern part of the city on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, while hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A firefighter stands in front of a burning business during a fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

Flames burn a vehicle at a business during a fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

Volunteers try to extinguish the flames near a house during a fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

A volunteer holds a hose amid smoke during a fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

Volunteers try to extinguish the fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of the Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

A volunteer tries to extinguish the fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

A volunteer throws a bucket of water to the flames during a fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

Volunteers try to extinguish the fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of the Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

The fire burns a vehicle during a fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

A volunteer holds a hose amid smoke during a fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

Volunteers try to extinguish the fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

A volunteer tries to extinguish the fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

Volunteers try to extinguish the fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Aggelos Barai)

Two men try to extinguish the flames at a burning business during a fire in northern Athens, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, as hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)

A general view of Athens with the Acropolis hill is seen as fire burns the northern part of the city on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, Hundreds of firefighters are tackling a major wildfire raging out of control on the fringes of the Greek capital. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran ’s rial currency traded Saturday at a record low against the U.S. dollar as the country returned to work after a long holiday, costing over 1 million rials for a single greenback as tensions between Tehran and Washington likely will push it even lower.

The exchange rate had plunged to over 1 million rials during the Persian New Year, Nowruz, as currency shops closed and only informal trading took place on the streets, creating additional pressure on the market. But as traders resumed work Saturday, the rate fell even further to 1,043,000 to the dollar, signaling the new low appeared here to stay.

On Ferdowsi Street in Iran’s capital, Tehran, the heart of the country’s money exchanges, some traders even switched off their electronic signs showing the going rate as uncertainty loomed over how much further the rial could drop.

“We turn it off since we are not sure about the successive changes of the rate,” said Reza Sharifi, who works at one exchange.

Iran’s economy has been severely affected by international sanctions, particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. At the time of the 2015 deal, which saw Iran drastically limit its enrichment and stockpiling of uranium in exchange for lifting of international sanctions, the rial traded at 32,000 to the dollar.

After Trump returned to the White House for his second term in January, he restarted his so-called “maximum pressure” campaign targeting Tehran with sanctions. He again went after firms trading Iranian crude oil, including those selling at a discount in China.

Trump meanwhile has written to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, trying to jumpstart direct talks between Tehran and Washington. So far, Iran has maintained it is willing for indirect talks, but such discussions under the Biden administration failed to make headway.

Meanwhile, Trump is continuing an intense airstrike campaign targeting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, the last force in Tehran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” able to attack Israel after other militant groups were mauled by Israel during its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Mehdi Darabi, a market analyst, said he believed that foreign pressures in recent months caused “expectations for the possibility of a decrease in oil sales and more inflation, and it caused a higher rate for hard currencies,” according to Tehran’s Donay-e-Eqtesad economic newspaper.

Economic upheavals have evaporated the public’s savings, pushing average Iranians into holding onto hard currencies, gold, cars and other tangible wealth. Others pursue cryptocurrencies or fall into get-rich-quick schemes.

Meanwhile, internal political pressure remains inflamed still over the mandatory hijab, or headscarf, with women still ignoring the law on the streets of Tehran. Rumors also persist over the government potentially increasing the cost of subsidized gasoline in the country, which has sparked nationwide protests in the past.

The falling rial has put more pressure as well on Iranian reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian. In March, when the rate was 930,000 rials to the dollar, Iran’s parliament impeached his finance minister, Abdolnasser Hemmati over the crashing rial and accusations of mismanagement.

Anger over government spending also saw Pezeshkian fire his vice president in charge of parliamentary affairs, Shahram Dabiri, for taking a luxury cruise to Antarctica, state media reported. Though Dabiri reportedly used his own money for the trip with his wife, the Instagram photos posted of his trip angered an Iranian public scrapping by to survive.

“In a situation where the economic pressures on people are huge and the number of deprived people is massive, expensive recreational trip by officials even by their own personal fund is not defendable and reasonable,” Pezeshkian said in firing Dabiri, who so far hasn’t offered any public explanation for his trip.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

FILE -A street money exchanger poses for a photo without showing his face as he counts Iranian banknotes at a commercial district in downtown Tehran, Iran, Dec. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)