Forest fires rage in Greece, threaten Olympics birthplace

LIMNI, Greece (AP) — Forest fires fueled by a protracted heat wave raged overnight and into Thursday in Greece, threatening the archaeological site at the birthplace of the modern Olympics and forcing the evacuation of dozens of villages.

One of the major fires was burning in the southern Greek region of the Peloponnese near ancient Olympia, where the Olympics were held every four years from 776 B.C. for more than a millennium.

Citizens Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis said firefighters had waged “an all-night battle” to protect the archaeological site and prevent the flames from reaching it.

The area was ravaged by wildfires in 2007 that killed dozens of people but spared Olympia’s ruined sports venues and temples.

The fire department said 174 firefighters, 9 ground teams, 52 vehicles, two water-dropping planes and four helicopters were tackling the fire, which broke out Wednesday.

More than 100 wildfires broke out over 24 hours from late Tuesday to late Wednesday, authorities said.

Another major fire was ravaging forests on the island of Evia, near the Greek mainland. That blaze broke out on Tuesday, leading to the evacuation of villages, and to around 90 people being evacuated from a beach by the coast guard and private boats.

More than 160 firefighters, three planes and three helicopters, as well as five ground teams and 57 vehicles were deployed to the wildfire in Evia.

Despite a massive effort to extinguish a forest fire that encroached into a northern suburb of Athens on Tuesday, the fire was still burning on Thursday, although no longer threatening inhabited areas. That blaze burned dozens of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate. Forty firefighters from Cyprus had joined Greek colleagues in that blaze.

In a Wednesday evening briefing,...