CLOSE CALL

Firefighters Manage to Save Ancient Olympics Site as Wildfires Rage in Greece

The same site was also at risk of burning when fires swept the region in 2007.

Greece is battling horrific wildfires near the ancient home of the first Olympic games, NBC News reports. The fires, which have swept through vast swaths of the island of Evia, near Athens, have forced evacuations and prompted fierce debate on the role climate change has played in exacerbating the disaster. “If there are even few people who have reservations about whether climate change is real, I call on them to come here and see the intensity of the phenomena,” said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The site of the first Olympics was threatened by the fire, as it had previously been in 2007, but was preserved by firefighters after an all-night battle, officials said Thursday. Nearby villages were forced to evacuate and authorities have issued more warnings as temperatures top 104 degrees.