Wildfire in Greece rages for second day, more homes evacuated

ATHENS, GREECE: Firefighters and water-dropping aircraft were fighting for a second day on Thursday to contain a large wildfire in southern Greece that forced evacuations and a night-long battle to save homes.


The Fire Service said the blaze to the east of the southern town of Corinth was in full development after winds picked up following a lull earlier in the day, and one more village was ordered evacuated - the seventh since the fire broke out on Wednesday.


Corinth is in the Peloponnese region, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Athens.

More than 270 firefighters, three planes and six helicopters were struggling to stop several fronts burning in a blaze that started from the seaside settlement of Kechries, an area with several summer houses that is popular with retirees, and spread inland

Most evacuated residents were bussed to nearby beaches and no injuries were reported.

The fire burned farmland as well as pine and olive trees and gutted or seriously damaged around 10 homes, local officials said.

Several wildfires that broke out in other parts of Greece were brought under control on Thursday, freeing forces to focus on the one in the Corinth area.

Wildfires are common during Greece's hot, arid summers. Massive blazes in 2007 killed about 80 people in southern and central Greece.