At least 150 houses were destroyed by a raging fire that surrounded a monastery and a dozen villages on the Greek island of Evia Wednesday, one of over 100 blazes burning in the country.

Firefighters were also battling a blaze near Athens, while the mayor of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, pleaded for help as flames threatened the site.

The blazes erupted as Greece is in the grip of a heatwave.

"We're waging a battle of the titans!" deputy minister for civil protection Nikos Hardalias told journalists. "The hardest is still to come."

On Evia, the huge flames leaping up from the forest could be seen from the sea. Firefighters said it was a difficult blaze to control on an island of rolling hills with little visibility.

Three monks from Saint David Monastery had refused to leave, they added, but everyone had been evacuated from nearby villages.

"We're suffocating due to the smoke," one of the monks told the ANA news agency by phone, describing flames of 30 to 40 metres (100 to 130 feet) high surrounding the monastery.

Police told AFP they would force the monks to evacuate if their lives were in danger. Around 85 people gathered on a beach were evacuated on five boats.

Some 100 firefighters backed by seven helicopters and water-bombing planes were fighting the blaze, civil protection officers said.

But local politicians denounced the lack of resources.

"We are asking the authorities to reinforce the air and land forces to so as not to risk human lives," Giorgos Tsapourniotis, the mayor of Limni, told ANA news agency.

And Argyris Liaskos, deputy mayor of Mantoudiou told Skai TV that no air support had been deployed there to tackle the fires. "At least 150 houses have burned," he said.

"There are two main fronts which are uncontrollable and several other smaller ones," Dimitris Vourdanos, deputy governor of the region, told the Kathimerini newspaper.

The authorities said three firefighters had been slightly hurt.

- Acrid smoke over Athens -

According to Hardalias, Greece has faced a total of 118 fires in the last 24 hours as temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Evia island is some 200 kilometres (125 miles) away from Athens, where more than 500 firefighters, a dozen water-bombing planes and five helicopters battled another wildfire on the outskirts of the city.

The blaze started on Tuesday in a pine forest at the foot of Mount Parnitha, one of three ranges that surround the Greek capital, sending plumes of dark, acrid smoke over Athens and leaving carcasses of burnt-out houses in its wake.

Around a dozen houses have been destroyed in the flames, and dozens of businesses, bars and holiday accommodation severely damaged in the suburb of Varybombi, 30 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of Athens, officials said.

But by Wednesday afternoon, the blaze was coming under control, Hardalias said.

Authorities in Athens have recommended residents stay indoors and wear a mask to protect against the ash and smoke.

Dozens of people had contacted the emergency services complaining of breathing difficulties.

- 'Climate threat' -

Over in Olympia, around 100 firefighters were battling the blaze, aided by three helicopters and two planes.

"Everything that can be done to protect from the flames the museum and the archaeological site, where the Olympic games started, has been done," said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni Wednesday evening.

But Wednesday night, the fire advanced closer to the site.

"The firefighters are waging a big battle to prevent the fire from reaching the archeological site," area official Vassilis Giannopoulos told ANA.

Earlier, the mayor of Olympia, Giorgos Georgopoulos, had called for more aerial support.

The European Union's crisis management commissioner said it would help, and Cyprus and Sweden were both sending two water-bombing planes to help battle the fires.

Neighbouring Turkey is also suffering its worst fires in at least a decade, claiming the lives of eight people and forcing hundreds to evacuate in southern areas popular with tourists.

Experts have warned that global warming is increasing both the frequency and intensity of such fires.

Residents near Athens discover ruins left by blaze
Varybombi, Greece (AFP) Aug 4, 2021 - "Last night was hell": Standing in front of his burnt warehouse, in the midst of charred pine trees, Christos Sfetsas deplores the "enormous damage" in his village on the outskirts of Athens, ravaged by one of dozens of wildfires hitting Greece.

The blaze started on Tuesday in a pine forest at the foot of Mount Parnitha, one of three ranges that surround the Greek capital, sending plumes of dark, acrid smoke over Athens and leaving carcasses of burnt-out houses in its wake.

Like hundreds of other locals, Sfetsas was ordered to leave his home in Varybombi on Tuesday as the fire spread on four fronts and was fast getting out of control.

"The damage is huge," Sfetsas, in his seventies, said as he returned on Wednesday.

"The flames came very near our house but luckily it wasn't damaged."

Some 30 kilometres north of Athens, Varybombi is a green village popular with residents in the capital wanting to escape the pollution.

"Once a paradise," it has been devastated, Sfetsas says.

The blaze spread quickly. "Within half-an-hour, it was disaster."

Smoke rises from the ruins of what were once tavernas, businesses and homes. Cars, pines are charred.

More than 300 people were evacuated from Varybombi and two other neighbouring villages on Tuesday evening and police said they came to the rescue of 70 people surrounded by flames.

There were no victims, and on Wednesday afternoon, deputy minister for civil protection Nikos Hardalias said the blaze was coming under control.

According to Hardalias, Greece has been hit with around 118 fires in the last 24 hours as a severe heatwave hits the country, with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

- 'Environmental disaster' -

"My house was spared the worst, God spared us, but neighbouring houses were burnt," Giorgos Mitropoulos told AFP.

The student described the blaze as an "environmental disaster" at the foot of Mount Parnitha, part of the European Union's Natura 2000 network of nature conservation sites.

The mountain range had already been ravaged by flames in 2007.

"Luckily, lots of volunteers saved the animals, the horses, the dogs and cats," said Mitropoulos.

Some 200 horses in riding centres in the area were moved to safety, the Greek horse-riding confederation said.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the fire was rendered "difficult" due to "extreme heat conditions."

But Christos Sfetsas blamed forestry authorities and a "lack of preventive measures, like the establishment of roads protecting forests against fires" that would allow specialist vehicles to better access the forests.

Authorities in Athens have recommended residents stay indoors and wear a mask to protect against the ash and lingering smoke.

The European Union's crisis management commissioner said it would help, and Cyprus and Sweden were both sending two water-bombing planes to help battle the fires.

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