ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece battled on Friday several wildfires at the southern tip of its mainland which were fanned by gale-force winds and forced evacuations of villages.
Dozens of firefighters assisted by eight aircraft were deployed to tame forest fires in the regions of Achaia and Ilia and near the town of Kranidi on the Peloponnese peninsula.
Residents of several villages in those areas were told to flee their homes as blazes approached.
Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country, but they have become more devastating as summers have become hotter and drier, which scientists relate to climate change.
“Winds speed, in many occasions, are exceeding 95 kilometres per hour, which hampers aircraft to approach,” said Greek fire brigade spokesperson Vasilis Vathrakogiannis in a televised briefing.
“All civil protection forces have been on alert today,” he added, as around 45 forest fires broke out in the country within a few hours.
Another forest fire which briefly threatened houses at a coastal town close to the capital Athens was contained earlier on Friday, the fire brigade said.
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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