Hundreds of firefighters strove for a third day Sunday to contain a major wildfire that has destroyed dozens of homes west of Athens, as a new blaze on the western island of Kefalonia triggered a series of evacuation orders.
Two people were arrested for negligence that started the wildfire west of Athens and face criminal charges.
Strong and unpredictable winds continued to hamper firefighting efforts, while authorities were on high alert for new blazes in the Greater Athens region, which together with the island of Evia faces a category-4 risk of wildfire Sunday on a 5-notch scale.
The wildfire that on Saturday raged in and around Porto Germeno, a coastal town on the Gulf of Corinth about 70 kilometers west of Athens, was sweeping Sunday towards the town of Megara, with about 500 firefighters with 134 fire engines trying to contain its spread.
Eight water-dropping aircraft joined the operation at first light, while the ground forces included two teams of 23 firefighters with four fire engines each from France and Romania.
