A big forest fire rages out of control in Greece

Firefighters struggled with a raging fire burning homes and stretching several kilometres in three heavily populated villages north east of Athens on Saturday. More than 200 firefighters, 12 firefighting planes, nine helicopters and 61 fire engines were engaged in a battle to stop the raging inferno driven by heavy winds as a state of emergency was called in the region, known as the Attika prefecture, 55 kilometres from Athens. The fire was raging on several fronts and was estimated to stretch for more than 10 kilometres. Authorities also called in firefighters and vehicles from other regions of the country to assist, fire brigade officials said. The three heavily populated villages of Marathon, Grammatiko and Varnavas, where several expensive villas are located, were threatened as at least eight homes were damaged by fire. No injuries were reported by police, and the cause of the fire was not yet clear. Fires in Greece are sometimes caused by arsonists trying to carve out property borders illegally in forested areas.