Wildfires in Greece close highways and threaten an oil refinery, as the EU sends firefighting planes

By THANASSIS STAVRAKIS and DEREK GATOPOULOS
Associated Press

MANDRA, Greece (AP) — Fast-moving fires outside Athens forced authorities in Greece to close highways and cancel vacations for firefighters and evacuations were expanded and weather conditions continued to worsen. The European Union provided assistance, sending water-dropping planes from France and Italy, and providing satellite imagery analysis to help assess the scale of damage. The country’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, cut short a trip to Brussels and returned to Athens ahead a second heat wave that is expected to increase the risk of fires across more of Greece.