A wildfire raging through forest and farmland near the village of Kalapodi in central Greece forced an evacuation order for one village in the area Wednesday, a day after a blaze killed two people in northern Greece.
The Fire Service said more than 100 firefighters with 25 fire engines on the ground were assisted by nine water-bombing planes and two helicopters from the air in their efforts to contain the blaze, which was whipped on by strong winds.
There were no initial reports of damage to property or injuries.
The fire broke out in the vicinity of Kalapodi south of Kamena Vourla, some 150 kilometers from Athens, and a push alert to mobile phones later urged the inhabitants of another village, Sfaka, to evacuate towards Elateia, to the west.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known. Most of Greece’s summer wildfires are attributed to negligence or malfunctioning power network lines, while arson – although popularly seen as a major contributing factor – is rarely proved to be the cause.
