Firefighters battle Western Greece wildfire burning through the night

Nearly 300 firefighters fought through the night to contain the fire early on August 1, which burned through pine and olive trees and damaged a number of homes and beach settlements, according to the national fire service.

Several villages and beaches were evacuated on July 31 when the fire crossed over the highway connecting Athens to Patras, Greece’s third largest city, dividing the area in two.

The fire erupted in the hills of Ziria in Greece’s Peloponnese, about 30 kilometres east of Patras, and quickly spread downwards towards the coast.