Greece gets EU help to battle wildfires

Greece battled wildfires that have ravaged homes and sparked evacuations for a second day yesterday, with the help of Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft expected to arrive later.

Five fires were still raging yesterday morning in the Peloponnese area west of the capital, as well as on the islands of Evia, Kythera and Crete, with aircraft and helicopters resuming their work in several parts of the country at dawn.

"Today is expected to be a difficult day with a very high risk of fire, almost throughout the territory," fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said yesterday.

Forecasters predicted the strong winds that fanned the flames would die down in most areas.