People evacuated from Evia beach, flames near Olympia

Local residents try to extinguish a fire near Limni village on the island of Evia, about 160 kilometers north of Athens, Wednesday. About 90 people were evacuated in boats from the island’s Rovies beach as firefighters were combating a large blaze that had split into four fronts as the newspaper went to print. Meanwhile, several villages were evacuated in the southern Peloponnese region as a blaze raged near Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games. The fire service was tackling another six blazes in the same Ilia region. Civil protection chief Nikos Hardalias said 118 wildfires had broken out over the past 24 hours. [AP]