1995 fire A fire in early July 1995 consumed much of the mountain forest, and much the eastern half became residential districts, suburbs of Athens proper. The volume of smoke was tremendous, covering the entire northeastern part of Athens, a pattern to continue with each subsequent large blaze. The blaze lasted about five days; it reached east of Penteli about 5:30 p.m. local time, and then into the Pentelis and Vrilissia neighborhoods, consuming a group of houses on Friday night (about 9:00 p.m. EET, 7:00 p.m. UTC), the northern part of the range on Saturday morning, parts of Ekali and Dionysos communities on Saturday afternoon and
Anoixi district on Monday. It consumed three quarters of the slopes of the mount, and was considered one of the worst forest fires Athens and Greece had seen in the 20th century. Housing development took place in the eastern half of the mountain, streets becoming grid and circular. Several houses were later added; a marble mine was also opened in the eastern half.
1998-2001 fires A series of fires also occurred after the major fire devastated the mountain range, from 1998 to 2001. Many of the fires were arson-related and suspects were arrested. After the major forest fire of July 1995, three years later in the area of
Drafi, mudslides blocked roads as a rock clogged off a residential road; a series of mudslides also occurred several years later and devastated some homes, continuing in part to this day due to the lack of foliage.
2007 fire Yet again, twelve years after the major fire, flames once more encroached on the urban areas of Athens from June 30, 2007, the same day as the
Parnitha fire. Initially, a minor fire was seen northeast of
Vrilissia, in which tens of houses and properties fell to the flames, along with its forests. The fire even burnt its dry grass which was the chief pattern of spread; the people of the area now favor removal of dry grass from future wildfires. The blaze burnt dozens of hectares and lasted through the late afternoon to the late-night hours, and was seen across many kilometres from Athens proper. A month and a half later, a huge fire yet again battered the forests adjoining the districts of Penteli and Vrilissia, starting in the afternoon hours and quickly spreading. This time the wildfire was larger and more destructive, with flames towering as high as 50 to 60 m, and almost blocking any view of the sky, along with attendant smoke. The blaze spread, burning tens or hundreds of buildings, many of them near the forested areas, and a western portion 10 km long from north to south, and 4 to 5 km wide from east to west. The flames spread into streets and were being controlled by a mix of firefighters, firefighting helicopters and locals seeking to preserve their property. One conflagration burnt trees in seconds, another extended to balconies with grills destroyed, and several roofs collapsed - the blaze lasted into the evening hours and its head burnt near the town, while Vrilissia, eastern
Nea Erythraia, Ekali, and Dionyssos were also hit. A highly presumed cause, like most of the fires across Greece in 2007, was arson; a former firefighter was charged with setting fires and was convicted, received a prison sentence. This was not the same blaze that had arrived from
Keratea and
Markopoulo to the south.
July 2022 In July 2022 another wildfire destroyed several hectares of forest land in the eastern side of the mountain. ==See also==