ATHENS (AFP) — Firefighters battled a major fire Wednesday on Mount Hymettus on the outskirts of Athens that burned through one of the Greek capital's last forests but posed no threat to homes.
"We are trying to contain the fire, a very difficult blaze which moved with incredible speed," fire department spokesman Yiannis Kapakis told the Mega television channel.
Thirty-seven fire engines, 150 firefighters, 100 soldiers, 13 water bombers and four helicopters were mobilised to fight the blaze that broke out shortly after midday near Glyka Nera, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of Athens.
Winds over 50 kilometres (30 miles) an hour pushed the flames to the summit of the mountain, out of reach of ground units, but firefighting aircraft kept the flames from reaching the suburbs of Holargos and Papagou on the other side.
"Homes are not in danger, but a beautiful forest is threatened," Glyka Nera mayor George Siokos told state television NET.
The Greek civil protection authority had warned Wednesday of a high fire risk in some parts of Athens due to high winds and rising temperatures.
Wildfires are a major concern in Greece every summer.
In August 2007, 77 people died in fires that ravaged the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Evia, destroying 270,000 hectares (666,000 acres) of forest and farm land.
A month earlier, another fire on Mount Parnitha north of Athens destroyed more than 5,000 hectares of forest inside a national park that was among the best protected in Greece.
Mount Hymettus was at risk last August when a fire broke out near a monastery near Papagou.
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