Several forest fires occurred since August 21, 2009 in the prefectures of Attica and Boeotia, north-western of Athens, Greece. Many residents had to be evacuated from their homes. The map shows the location of active fire hot spots on different days and burnt areas on August 25, 2009. The active fire hot spots were automatically derived from MODIS Fire Information System. The hot spots and the burnt areas are superimposed on a natural color image of Landsat 5 acquired on August 25, 2009. Only cloudless areas were considered for calculating the statistics

ATHENS, Aug 27, 2009 (AFP) - Scores of Kurdish refugees living in Greece have been left homeless after their camp was destroyed by a huge wildfire on the outskirts of Athens, a local residents group said Thursday.

The fire tore through the former holiday camp on Mount Penteli, on the northern edge of the Greek capital, where the 120 Kurds were housed.

The refugees, who worked locally, had been at the camp since 1997 when it was fitted out for them by medical aid group Medecins du Monde.

The Penteli residents committee urged

Athens_(dpa) _ Thousands of hectares of forest lay scorched and homes were smoking ruins in the northern outskirts of the Greek capital Tuesday as firefighters worked to contain blazes that had raged out of control for days.

As winds died down significantly Tuesday, only two fires still burned near the coastal town of Karathina and Porto Germano north-west of Athens and near the village of Karisto on Evia island, east of the capital.

More than 500 firefighters assisted by 300 soldiers continued to guard the area north-east of Athens against any new flareups.

ATHENS, Aug 25, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Greek government has decided to step up measures to protect the areas devastated by the recent wildfires in a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

A satellite surveillance system will be set up to shield the charred areas from trespassers, said Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias.

Souflias said that anti-corrosion works will also commence as soon as possible. "We shall get to work immediately. All services and officials must coordinate themselves and I believe that with the help of all we shall be able to confront this great ecological

Athens_(dpa) _ Firefighters battled raging wildfires approaching Athens for the third straight day Monday, burning houses and forests while forcing thousands to flee their towns.

Easing winds in the early hours offered firefighters some hope as water-dropping planes and helicopters resumed operations at first light, assisted by aircraft from Italy, France and Cyprus. More than 2,000 firefighters, soldiers and volunteers are fighting the fires on the ground.

Officials warned that the fires still threatened the heavily populated northern coastal towns of Nea Makri, Dionysos

En estrecha colaboración con las autoridades griegas

- Se trata de dos aviones Canadair 415

- A través del Mecanismo de Cooperación en Protección Civil de la Unión Europea

En respuesta a la solicitud del Gobierno de Grecia, el Gobierno de España ha dispuesto que, dentro del dispositivo aéreo que en estos momentos está interviniendo en Grecia se sumen dos aviones CL-415 "Canadair", del 43 Grupo de Fuerzas Aéreas del Ejército del Aire, bajo mando operativo del general jefe de la UME y a disposición del Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino para colaborar

- Fire-fighters say main blaze has subsided

- Risk of flare-ups still high

- Government criticised for fire handling

By Renee Maltezou and Dina Kyriakidou

ATHENS, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Helped by a lull in winds, fire fighters on Monday beat back wildfires that swept through suburbs of Athens and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.

The government, however, faced criticism over its handling of the crisis which could hurt its prospects in an expected snap election later this year.

A dozen Greek, Italian and French fire-fighting