Resurgent Wildfires in Greece Burn Homes, Threaten Monuments

ATHENS - A resurgent wildfire burned homes north of Athens, and blazes across southern Greece forced more evacuations Thursday as weather worsened and firefighters in a round-the-clock battle strove to save a former royal palace and the birthplace of the ancient Olympics.

In a dramatic scene as flames approached, fire crews went house to house to escort residents out of homes 20 kilometers (12½ miles) north of the capital. The fire threatened the power supply to parts of the capital after damaging the transmission network, officials said, adding that fire crews with more than 700 people were working through the night. Greek and European Union officials described the huge fires as a consequence of climate change. Fueled by the worst heat wave in decades, the blazes drew closer to a summer palace at Tatoi outside Athens once used by the former Greek royal family, as well as a major archaeological site in southern Greece that was the birthplace of the ancient Olympics.