Greek wildfire near Athens recedes

Reuters: A wildfire that burned rural land near Athens and sent some residents fleeing their homes receded on Sunday with firefighters expecting to put out the blaze within hours.

More than 140 firefighters with dozens of engines battled the flames, aided by seven aircraft and four helicopters. Greek authorities on Saturday asked other EU countries to send water bombing airplanes to reinforce efforts to fight the fires.

Two Italian Canadair aircraft with a total of 10 crew members left Ciampino airbase outside Rome early on Sunday bound for Greece, the European Commission said.

Politicians from the country's main parties visited the region just hours before a national election that may determine Greece's future in the euro zone.

The fire broke out on Saturday from sparks at a site where workers had been welding, and, fanned by strong winds, it quickly spread to engulf the settlements of Palaia Fokaia, Keratea and Legraina near the southern coast of Athens...

Smoke from a wildfire above Syntagma Square in 2009, shot by Юкатан (Yucatan), Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license