Major blaze in Greece destroys forest, nears village

A major wildfire northwest of the Greek capital destroyed large tracts of pine forest for a third day and threatened a large village as hundreds of firefighters battled the flames Wednesday.

The blaze in the Vilia area broke out Monday shortly after another wildfire started to the southwest of Athens. On Wednesday a shift in the wind direction drove the flames towards Vilia, some 60 kilometers from Athens. Several other villages and a nearby nursing home received evacuation orders. Hundreds of wildfires have burned across Greece this month.
About two dozen European and Middle Eastern countries responded, sending planes, helicopters, vehicles and hundreds of firefighters.