Hundreds of firefighters in Greece on Saturday were being pushed to the limit to save a popular coastal resort and other areas as violent winds lashed the country, the civil protection minister said.Gale-force winds created "extremely difficult conditions resulting in many cases where aircraft either cannot draw water or cannot carry out drops due to extreme turbulence”, Evangelos Tournas said in a televised address.
Nearly 500 firefighters were battling blazes in the area of Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth, some 70 kilometers northwest of Athens, the fire department said.
French and Romanian firefighters were assisting that effort, it added.
Some 60 forest and agricultural fires have broken out in the last 24 hours, the department said.
Nearly 100 firefighters were fighting another blaze in Aigialia in the northern Peloponnese, while another front in Phocis, central Greece was tying down another 64 firefighters.
