Forest Fires Kill 15 in Southern Greece
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"The next few hours will be critical"  Forest fires whipped by gale-force winds killed at least 15 people in southern Greece Friday, including at least nine people trapped in their cars as the flames approached.Across the country, more than 150 fires were burning, and the government appealed to the European Union to 'send any help they can,' acting Interior Minister Spyros Flogaitis said after an emergency meeting of Greece's civil protection department.Hot, dry winds gusting to gale force prevented firefighting planes from taking off, leaving only ground forces to fight the flames in the southern Peloponnese, with occasional help from helicopters and residents using their garden hoses. A three-day heat wave, with temperatures up to 104 degrees, has left forests and scrubland parched on the peninsula linked to the Greek mainland by a narrow isthmus. Read more
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KRESTENA, Greece  - Desperate Greek villages encircled by flames appealed for help on Monday as strong winds continued to fan forest fires sweeping through the country, killing 63 people in three days.
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Forest fires whipped by gale-force winds killed at least 12 people on Friday in the mountains of southern Greece, including six people trapped in their cars.
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Wildfires swept through Greece on Thursday, killing two people and destroying homes after days of record temperatures of more than 100 degrees that led to at least nine heatstroke deaths and extensive power cuts.
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Readers in Greece have sent in photos of forest across the country.
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With wildfires raging across the countryside, Greece's government said it has enlisted intelligence and counterterrorism agents to foil what it sees as a deliberate plan by arsonists to destroy Greek forests.
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ATHENS, Aug. 24 -- Forest fires raced across southern Greece on Friday, sweeping into mountainous towns and villages and killing at least 17 people, two of them found locked in an embrace and others outside cars overtaken by the flames.
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PLOUTOCHORI, Greece  - Greek firefighters on Wednesday gained the upper hand over countrywide forest fires that have killed at least 63 people and left the government shaken by accusations of incompetence.
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MOUNT PENTELI, Greece - If history is any guide, vast acres blackened in Greece's deadly wildfires will eventually sprout anew - with luxury villas, fancy hotels, and expensive vacation homes.
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Some forest fires still burn in southern Greece but rain from the north is expected to bring some relief.
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Firefighters battle to contain a major forest fire near the suburbs of the Greek capital, Athens.
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ZACHARO, Greece  - Greece declared a nationwide state of emergency on Saturday after the country's worst forest fires in decades killed at least 47 people and trapped many more in villages surrounded by flames.
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Firefighters hope to have full control of Greece's worst forest fires in memory within the next four days, the fire brigade said on Saturday.
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Greece's PM implies arson is to blame as fires that have killed about 50 people bear down on more villages.
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PLOUTOCHORI, Greece  - Greek firefighters on Wednesday beat back countrywide forest fires that have killed at least 63 people, but said they fear new flare-ups with a heatwave expected this weekend.
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Greek firefighters started to get to grips with countrywide forest fires on Wednesday after six devastating days, but warned that a coming heatwave could reignite the flames that have killed at least 63 people.
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PLOUTOCHORI, Greece  - Greek firefighters gained the upper hand on Wednesday over widespread forest fires that have killed at least 63 people and left the government shaken by accusations of incompetence.