Wildfires burn coastal homes, forests in Greece as Europe's heatwave spreads east

Greek firefighters battled wildfires on the island of Lesbos for a second day on Sunday as well as new fires in the western Peloponnese and in northern Greece, evacuating nearby settlements as a heatwave set in.

A wildfire that started in mountainous forests on Lesbos in the Aegean Sea near Turkey on Saturday, burning properties at the beach resort of Vatera, was still raging, forcing the evacuation of two more villages - Vrisa and Stavros.

In mainland Greece a new wildfire threatened homes at Krestena in the western Peloponnese, forcing the evacuation of Gryllos village.

"The flames have encircled Krestena, there are reports of damaged homes, we need help," Anastasios Karnaros, a town council member, told Greek broadcaster Open TV.

Temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in parts of Greece on Sunday as a heatwave that has hit other parts of Europe spread east and was expected to last for most of the coming week, according to meteorologists.

In the north of the country, a wildfire continued to ravage a pristine forest near Dadia, a natural habitat for black vultures, burning for a fourth day as authorities struggled to contain its destruction.

"We are dealing with difficult terrain and access with winds changing direction," Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianidis, coordinating efforts from the air and on the ground, told state TV ERT.

• Hundreds evacuated from Greek resort as Lesbos fires rage