More villages evacuated as a large wildfire in northern Greece rages for the second day

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities have evacuated five more villages near the northeastern border with Turkey where a large summer wildfire is raging for a second day. The operation on Sunday brought the total number of evacuations to 13, after residents of eight other villages near the town of Alexandroupolis were forced to leave their homes on Saturday. The fire has so far severely damaged several houses, but no serious injuries to firefighters or residents have been reported. Strong winds whipped on the flames, and civil protection authorities warned of an “extreme” fire risk Monday in the region around the capital, Athens, and other parts of southern Greece. Some 200 firefighters, assisted by 16 water-dropping aircraft, volunteers and police, were battling the blaze near Alexandroupolis Sunday.