Major wildfire rages in coastal town near Athens

ATHENS

A major wildfire is raging in the coastal town of Palaia Fokaia near Athens, local media reported on Thursday.

The fire that began earlier on Thursday forced the evacuation of four settlements in the town—Triantafyllia, Charakas, Katafygi, Tourkolimano, and Thymari—with approximately 1000 people, with dozens of houses reduced to ashes, public broadcaster ERT reported.

Hundreds of firefighters, forest rangers, and dozens of firefighting aircraft and helicopters, as well as army and coast guard forces and volunteers, are working tirelessly to contain the scattered outbreaks and keep the flames from spreading to the nearby virgin forest, it added.