Greek wildfire burns through pine forest for 4th day

By SRDJAN NEDELJKOVIC and ELENA BECATOROS
Associated Press

THEA, Greece (AP) — Hundreds of Greek and Polish firefighters, backed by more than two dozen helicopters and planes, are battling a major wildfire ravaging a pine forest for a fourth day northwest of the Greek capital. The fire near the village of Vilia, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Athens, has already burned through thousands of hectares and led to evacuation orders being issued for several villages in the area. Across the country, the fire department said 55 new forest fires had broken out in the 24 hours between Wednesday evening and Thursday evening, with most tackled in their early stages. Reinforcements were sent Thursday to the main blaze in Vilia, with 22 helicopters and 11 planes providing air support to 451 firefighters.