Greece Wildfire

Hundreds of people were evacuated early Wednesday as firefighters deployed planes and helicopters to fight a surging wildfire in mountainside suburbs north of Athens for a second day.

Authorities across southern Europe battled on Sunday to control huge wildfires in countries including Spain, Greece and France, with hundreds of deaths blamed on soaring temperatures that scientists say are consistent with climate change.

A wildfire whipped by gale-force winds blazed through vegetation in a southern suburb of Athens on Saturday, the fire brigade said, forcing residents to evacuate and damaging about 20 properties.

Hundreds of firefighters battled Thursday to contain new flare-ups in wildfire-ravaged areas of Greece, where summer infernos have caused what the prime minister described as the country's "greatest ecological disaster in decades".

Thousands of people have fled their homes on the Greek island of Evia as wildfires burned uncontrolled for a sixth day on Sunday, and ferries were on standby for more evacuations after taking many to safety by sea.

A firefighting aircraft crashed in Greece on Sunday, but there were no casualties, the fire brigade told AFP.

Flames swept through a town near Athens overnight and hundreds of people were evacuated by ferry from the island of Evia as wildfires burned across Greece for a fifth day on Saturday.

Yorgos Papaioannou spent four hours using a garden hose to try to save his newly-built home from a blazing wildfire, until police patrolling his suburb north of Athens ordered him and his girlfriend to leave.

Fire-fighting resources from EU nations are on their way to Greece, Italy, Albania and Northern Macedonia to help fight forest blazes, the EU crisis management commissioner said on Wednesday.

A wildfire raged near the ruins of the Bronze Age site of Mycenae in Greece on Sunday, prompting the evacuation of visitors to the archeological site.

Firefighters on the Greek island of Evia were still battling Wednesday to contain a fire that has caused massive damage to a pristine mountain wildlife habitat after threatening four communities.

A large wildfire fanned by strong winds burned tracts of pine forest on the Greek island of Evia, firefighters said on Tuesday, with evacuation ordered of two villages in the path of the flames.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faced mounting criticism on Saturday after wildfires that killed at least 88 people plunged Greece into grief just as it was healing from years of painful bailouts.

Firefighters battled forest blazes and authorities banned barbecues,warning citizens of near-record temperatures as a heatwave scorched much of Europe on Friday.

Rescuers on Thursday searched the scorched land and the sea for survivors three days after a deadly wildfire ripped through the Greek coastal town of Mati killing at least 81 people.

Hundreds of people were evacuated early Wednesday as firefighters deployed planes and helicopters to fight a surging wildfire in mountainside suburbs north of Athens for a second day.

Authorities across southern Europe battled on Sunday to control huge wildfires in countries including Spain, Greece and France, with hundreds of deaths blamed on soaring temperatures that scientists say are consistent with climate change.

A wildfire whipped by gale-force winds blazed through vegetation in a southern suburb of Athens on Saturday, the fire brigade said, forcing residents to evacuate and damaging about 20 properties.

Hundreds of firefighters battled Thursday to contain new flare-ups in wildfire-ravaged areas of Greece, where summer infernos have caused what the prime minister described as the country's "greatest ecological disaster in decades".

Thousands of people have fled their homes on the Greek island of Evia as wildfires burned uncontrolled for a sixth day on Sunday, and ferries were on standby for more evacuations after taking many to safety by sea.

A firefighting aircraft crashed in Greece on Sunday, but there were no casualties, the fire brigade told AFP.

Flames swept through a town near Athens overnight and hundreds of people were evacuated by ferry from the island of Evia as wildfires burned across Greece for a fifth day on Saturday.

Yorgos Papaioannou spent four hours using a garden hose to try to save his newly-built home from a blazing wildfire, until police patrolling his suburb north of Athens ordered him and his girlfriend to leave.

Fire-fighting resources from EU nations are on their way to Greece, Italy, Albania and Northern Macedonia to help fight forest blazes, the EU crisis management commissioner said on Wednesday.

A wildfire raged near the ruins of the Bronze Age site of Mycenae in Greece on Sunday, prompting the evacuation of visitors to the archeological site.

Firefighters on the Greek island of Evia were still battling Wednesday to contain a fire that has caused massive damage to a pristine mountain wildlife habitat after threatening four communities.

A large wildfire fanned by strong winds burned tracts of pine forest on the Greek island of Evia, firefighters said on Tuesday, with evacuation ordered of two villages in the path of the flames.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faced mounting criticism on Saturday after wildfires that killed at least 88 people plunged Greece into grief just as it was healing from years of painful bailouts.

Firefighters battled forest blazes and authorities banned barbecues,warning citizens of near-record temperatures as a heatwave scorched much of Europe on Friday.

Rescuers on Thursday searched the scorched land and the sea for survivors three days after a deadly wildfire ripped through the Greek coastal town of Mati killing at least 81 people.