Reinforcements called in as Greece battles huge wildfires

Burned forest next to houses after a wildfire in the Thrakomacedones area, north of Athens (Michael Varaklas/AP)

Hundreds of firefighters, backed by planes, helicopters and reinforcements from other countries, battled massive wildfires that continued burning in Greece on Sunday, fuelled by bone-dry conditions after the country’s worst heatwave in decades.

Authorities dedicated the most resources to tackling four major blazes – one, on Greece’s second-largest island of Evia, that has burned for five days, cutting across the island from coast to coast and isolating its northern part; and three in the southern Peloponnese region.