Greece wildfires: Winds fan 2 new blazes outside of Athens

By ELENA BECATOROS and NICHOLAS PAPHITIS
Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — More wildfires have broken out in hard-hit Greece, with two blazes triggering the evacuation of 11 villages southeast and northwest of Athens, the Greek capital. Hundreds of firefighters, backed up by water-dropping planes and helicopters, have been battling the blazes. Greece has been roiled by wildfires this month after enduring a prolonged heat wave. The blazes have destroyed tens of thousands of acres of forest and farmland, burned homes and businesses and forced thousands of people to flee. Several other Mediterranean countries have also suffered intense heat and quickly spreading wildfires in recent weeks, including Algeria, Turkey, Italy and Spain.