Blazes near Athens ease, firefighters on alert

Two wildfires that burned near Athens since Sunday, destroying dozens of houses and vehicles had eased by Monday morning, officials said.

More than 100 firefighters in full gear with 42 water engines and seven units on foot worked all night to contain the flames in a sparsely-populated area near the town of Keratea, some 35 kms (22 miles) south of Athens. In the first light of day, two helicopters were added to the firefighting efforts. Authorities said they were on standby to prevent the scattered fires from spreading.

On Sunday, authorities had ordered evacuations before flames from burning pine and olive trees engulfed at least 10 houses.

"I estimate that we have 10 to 15 houses with damages, big or small, in [the settlements of] Plaka and Markati," Lavreotiki mayor, Dimitris Loukas, told Kathimerini on Sunday night.

Another fire in the community of...