A firefighter runs away a wildfire raging since four days in the Megara Region, west of Athens. AFP
Several fires that burned through mountain communities and coastal areas west of the Greek capital were brought under control overnight. Planes and helicopters dumped water inside the contained perimeters through the morning, dousing hotspots while the winds stayed calm.
The army deployed tracked earth movers to carve fire breaks across the scorched hillsides, while specialist units pushed into forest areas on foot to extinguish smouldering embers before they could reignite.
Crews were working against the clock: Winds typically pick up in the afternoon, a coastal phenomenon common across the Mediterranean in summer as land heats faster than the sea and draws in stronger breezes.
The blaze jumped containment lines a day earlier.
More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from around the seaside resort of Porto Germeno and other areas west of the capital, including more than 250 rescued by boats from beaches in the area.
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