Greeks count wildfire costs

IN THE municipality of Palaia Fokaia, an hour's drive south of Athens, a typical bucolic Greek landscape of olive groves and hamlets was transformed by a raging Friday wildfire into a dystopia of blackened land and incinerated homes.

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A howling wind ripped through the settlement at the weekend spread dust and the bitter smell of ash coming from the surrounding hills, where fires and smouldering embers continued to burn.

The ground shuddered as low-flying helicopters and water bombers weaved through the steep terrain to release water onto the remaining blazes and retrieve sea water.

Hours earlier, over 200 firefighters had battled to keep the fire that erupted in the rural region of Keratea, some 43km southeast of Athens, from threatening the coastal resorts dotting the coast of Attica.