Water-dropping aircraft were assisting ground forces Monday to fight two blazes coursing through forests in northern Greece, as much of the country was on high alert for wildfires.
The Fire Service said two water-bombing helicopters were flying sorties to back up 32 firefighters with eight fire engines near the mountain village of Kastania in the Veria region.
Earlier, another helicopter was mobilised to join a firefighting effort near the village of Perivoli in the Grevena region, where 18 firefighters with five fire engines were operating.
Most of Greece has been assessed as being at a high or very high risk of wildfire Monday, including the Greater Athens region, many of the Aegean Sea islands, Evia, the eastern Peloponnese and central areas.
Large summer wildfires have destroyed thousands of hectares of Greece’s fast-disappearing forests. In recent weeks, seven people have been killed and scores of homes lost to wildfires.
