Fire damages homes, cars northeast of Athens

Four houses were completely destroyed, while the roofs and outer walls of many more suffered extensive damages in suburbs of Stamata, Rodopoli and Dionysos, northeast of Athens, as a wildfire swept through a local pine forest. Fifteen cars were also burned. The fire started to recede later Tuesday thanks to the efforts of eight water-dropping airplanes, 12 helicopters and more than 300 firefighters on the ground. “It was a difficult and dangerous fire,” civil protection chief Nikos Hardalias said. “Fire crews had to operate between inhabited areas and between homes,” he added. [Sooc]