Greek wildfire spreads to edge of Athens; towns, hospitals evacuated

A fast-moving wildfire fuelled by gale-force winds spread to the edge of Athens on Monday, torching trees, houses and cars and forcing evacuations of several hospitals and a dozen towns and villages, Greek authorities said.

Hundreds of wildfires have broken out across Greece since May. While summer fires are common in Greece, extraordinarily hot and dry weather linked to climate change have made blazes more frequent and intense. Wildfires fanned by extreme heat have also raged this month in parts of Spain and the Balkans.

More than 670 firefighters backed by volunteers, 183 fire engines, 32 waterbombing planes and helicopters battled the latest wildfire that broke out at 3 p.m. (midday GMT) on Sunday near Varnavas 35 km (20 miles) north of the capital.

By Monday the conflagration, the worst in Greece this year, had advanced to the village of Grammatiko, the...