Fire rages for 2nd day near Greek capital

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire near the town of Palea Fokaia, south of Athens, Saturday, June 16, 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire near the town of Palea Fokaia, south of Athens, Saturday, June 16, 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Visitors stand next to the ruins of the 5th century B.C. Temple of Poseidon as smoke from a fire rises over the Saronic Gulf at Cape Sounion, south of Athens, Saturday, June 16, 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

A firefighter walks through smoke during a fire near the town of Palea Fokaia, south of Athens, Saturday, June 16, 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

A fire-fighting helicopter loads water from the Saronic gulf, as seen from Palea Fokaia, Greece, Saturday, June 16 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

A fire fighting airplane drops water over a fire near the town of Palea Fokaia, south of Athens, Saturday, June 16, 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? A major fire south of the Greek capital burning for the second day Sunday was abating slightly, the fire department said, but gale-force winds were rekindling the flames.

Local officials said several homes had been burned, while three firefighters were injured in the blaze Saturday.

More than 250 firefighters and soldiers using more than 60 vehicles were battling the flames south of Athens, along with four water-dropping planes and a helicopter, the fire department said. Another 45 firefighters and 15 vehicles were being sent from other areas.

Greece appealed to the European Union for help. Italy was sending another two water-dropping planes Sunday morning, Citizens' Protection Minister Eleftherios Economou said. France and Croatia were also looking into the request.

Four people were to appear in court later Sunday after being arrested for allegedly accidentally causing the blaze while carrying out welding work at a construction site.

By Saturday night, the fire was raging on a 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) front to the west and south of the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens.

Fire department spokesman Nikolas Tsongas said on Greek radio that the blaze was abating on Sunday, but the strong winds were rekindling the flames in some areas.

Power was cut to the area to facilitate water-dropping planes, authorities said.

Economou said more than 30 fires had broken out across the country on Saturday, but most were brought under control. The risk of new fires was considered high, after several days of hot temperatures followed by strong winds across most of Greece.

The blazes were being fought as Greeks voted in a national election that could determine whether their indebted nation stays in the euro.

Forest and brush fires are common in the hot, dry summer months in Greece. In the deadliest outbreak in decades, more than 60 people were killed when forest fires raged across southern Greece in 2007.

Associated Press

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