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Firefighters battle blaze near Athens

by VOA News

   Greek firefighters and water-dropping aircraft tamed but did not
   completely extinguish a wildfire Wednesday near Athens.

   "The situation is being brought under control," local Mayor Dimitris
   Kioussis told state-run ERT television. Earlier, the residents of two
   villages had been evacuated.

   Firefighters will be on alert all night in case the blaze sparks up
   again.

   Officials say they believe the fire is the result of arson, exacerbated
   by extreme weather conditions. There have been no reports of deaths or
   injuries because of the blaze.

   Civil protection minister Vassilis Kikilias said authorities possess a
   video and photographs of a suspected arsonist.

   The fire near Athens is one of dozens across Greece. Reuters reports
   that firefighters have been deployed to more than 60 fires across the
   country, and that 16 of the blazes remain active.

   "Since noon, we had a new fire breaking out almost every 10 minutes,"
   Kikilias said.

   While fires are common in the region, increasingly high temperatures
   and lack of rain have increased the intensity of the blazes.

   Firefighters battled the fire near Athens on Wednesday as temperatures
   reached 35 degrees Celsius.

   Scientists blame the hotter and drier conditions on climate change.

   Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and
   Reuters.

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