Almost 100 forest fires erupt during winter weekend

Firefighters responded to 96 forest and bushland fires in Greece over the weekend, even though there are officially still three weeks left of winter.

The worst blaze erupted on the north side of the Peloponnese peninsula, at the tip of the mainland, where aircraft were used to contain the flames, state broadcaster ERT reported on Sunday. So far, no people have been harmed.

Meteorologists cited unusual weather conditions as the cause: In large parts of Greece it has rained very little this winter.

Greece and other countries in southern Europe have seen particularly devastating fire seasons in recent years. — dpa