Πρακτορείο REUTERS – Top News Greek forest fire rages near Athens, damages homes

ATHENS (Reuters) - A large wildfire raged out of control on the outskirts of Athens on Saturday, burning several homes and thousands of acres of forest.

Greek authorities declared a state of emergency in the area, after the fire, which broke out late Friday in the village of Grammatiko, about 40 km (25 miles) northeast of the Greek capital, spread to neighboring villages fanned by strong winds, the fire brigade said.

"The fire is reaching the villages of Grammatiko, Varnavas and Marathon. We have called a state of emergency in the eastern Attica prefecture," an official at Greece's civil protection authority told Reuters.

The flames seared thousands of acres of forest land, farming fields and olive groves and formed thick clouds of smoke over the Greek capital.

Police and witnesses said at least eight homes were heavily damaged but fire brigade declined to give official data for the damage until the blaze was put out.

"Residents with hoses, shovels, tree branches and buckets of water are trying to save their property. The elderly are taken to safe places," a Reuters witness said.

Fire officials said more help from the countryside was called in as strong winds constantly changed direction and hindered their efforts.

Twelve aircraft, nine helicopters, 61 fire engines and 210 firefighters with 38 water tanks were trying to battle the blaze and stop it from expanding to other, densely populated areas.

"It is a very difficult fire because it rages in a mixed zone of residential areas and forest land," Greek fire brigade spokesman Giannis Kapakis said.

Kapakis urged people near the fire to evacuate the area.

Gale-force winds fanned more than 100 blazes across Greece in the last two days.

Two more fires broke out on Saturday on the eastern Greek islands of Evia and Skyros, while one more raged on the island of Zakynthos, in western Greece.

Wildfires are frequent in Greece during the summer, often caused by high temperatures and winds, drought or arson. Hundreds of fires raged across southern Europe in July, destroying thousands of hectares of forest and gutting dozens of homes.

Greece saw its deadliest wildfires in memory in 2007, when blazes on the island of Evia and the southern Peloponnese peninsula raged for more than 10 days, killing 65 people.

(Additional reporting by Harry Papachristou)