Wildfires

Wildfires - Greece

Greece's fire service says a fire has been raging in a mountainous part of the island of Evia in central Greece for the second day in a row, burning well over 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) of forest and forcing authorities to evacuate a village, a monastery and a hotel.

The service says the hot, dry and windy weather is helping the fire expand and making it difficult for the five planes, five helicopters and hundreds of firefighters on the ground to contain it. Firefighting help from the air ceases at sundown.

The agency says the Evia fire is the largest of the 59 wildfires that broke out between 6 a.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday. Other fires on the islands of Crete and Kea are also still expanding.

Wildfires - USA

CALIFORNIA

Fire officials say a wildfire burning near California's dramatic Big Sur coast has destroyed 57 homes and is threatening 2,000 more. The week-old blaze has also scared away tourists who are cancelling bookings after fire officials warned that crews will likely be battling a wildfire raging in steep, forested ridges just to the north for another month. The blaze has grown to 52 square miles.More than 5,000 firefighters are battling the wildfire that officials expect to linger until the end of August.

WYOMING

A new fire in southwest Wyoming has destroyed eight rural homes and forced the evacuation of about 140 others. The fire in Uinta County was detected Thursday and grew quickly, burning about 3 square miles in a matter of hours.

Elsewhere in Wyoming, favourable weather allowed firefighters to take the offensive against a wildfire threatening hundreds of seasonal homes. The fire in Shoshone National Forest has burned about 19 square miles.

NEVADA

Two hundred firefighters with air support turned back the immediate threat to homes north of Reno where a series of lightning-sparked wildfires prompted voluntary evacuations Friday. But more fire crews were on the way as evening thunderstorms moved into the area packing potential for more trouble.

The biggest blaze has burned about 2 square miles in the Red Rock area east of U.S. Highway 395. But it is 50 percent contained and should be fully contained by Monday night. No structures have been damaged or injuries reported.

About 40 homes were threatened earlier Friday in the dry, high desert of the Sierra Nevada where temperatures exceeded 100 degrees about 30 miles north of Reno. But voluntary evacuations were lifted later in the day, and no homes faced any imminent danger by Friday evening.

WASHINGTON

A fire burning northeast of Moses Lake near the town of Marlin is estimated to have grown to be over 20,000 acres as of Sunday afternoon, down from the 28,000 acres previously estimated.

The Black Rock Fire was estimated to be 23,600 acres and approximately 40 percent contained. Fire crews, aided by a single engine tanker plane and citizens with farming equipment, were able to stop a flare-up and spread of the fire Sunday. The fire had threatened 25 residences, crops and livestock. Grant County officials said since the fire wasn't growing at a rapid pace, evacuation orders were lifted Sunday. The fire started Saturday afternoon and grew from 3,000 acres to 11,000 acres in a matter of hours. Fire crews say strong winds fuelled the fire.