Major wildfire continues to rage in Greece's Attica region

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - A major fire that broke out Sunday in the northeastern town of Varnavas in Greece’s Attica region continued to rage, damaging many homes.

The fire is spreading towards Marathon Lake, Attica’s major water reservoir.

Police said they managed to rescue 65 people who were trapped in their cars in the Varnavas area.

More than 315 firefighters, teams of forest commandos, 98 vehicles, a number of volunteers and firefighting forces from Moldova and Romania and 26 firefighting planes and helicopters are battling the flames.

According to the local fire department, the fire managed to spread quickly due to gale-force winds in the area. According to the weather forecast, the winds will continue to be strong throughout the night.

"At this time, the fire is advancing toward Marathon Lake with the forces against it being constantly reinforced, focusing on the flanks and dealing with flames that in some cases are higher than 25 meters (82 feet)," fire brigade spokesperson Vasilis Vathrakogiannis said at a press conference.

Message alerts via the 112 emergency number have been sent to residents of the nearby areas of Dionysos, Stamata and Rodopoli, prompting them to evacuate.

Another fire that broke out earlier in the town of Megara in western Attica has been contained.