Large fire in Greece's Attica region nearing residential areas

A fire in a Greek village in Attica, northeast of central Athens, is blazing close to residential areas, firefighters said Tuesday.

Strong winds reaching up to force 6 on the Beaufort scale (39-49 kilometers per hour, 25-31 miles per hour) are reportedly making the situation more difficult in the village of Stamata, North East Attica, part of the municipality of Dionysos.

"Strong firefighting forces are doing whatever possible to prevent the flames from reaching the houses of the Galini settlement in Stamata,” Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, a fire brigade spokesman, told state news agency Athens-Macedonian.

The Galini settlement has been already evacuated.

Dionysos Mayor Yiannis Kalafatelis earlier told local media that the situation is very difficult.

The area, located in a rich forested pine area, is densely inhabited.

Firefighting forces operating in the area include 14 fire engines with 43 firefighters, two teams on foot, four firefighting aircraft, and five water-dropping helicopters.

The fire was initially detected by a fire hub system which monitors natural disasters via satellite pictures in Southeastern Europe.