After more than three difficult days of action, the first major forest fire of the season in Greece is as good as extinguished: It is only a "matter of hours before the fire is completely under control," said fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis on Sunday morning for the Greek news agency ANA.
Apparently there were no victims in the days of the fires, but they caused considerable damage.
The government promised financial aid.
The fire broke out late Wednesday evening near the nature reserve of the Gerania mountain range around 90 kilometers west of Athens and had spread rapidly. Almost 20 villages had to be evacuated, several houses were destroyed, animals and farmland destroyed. Despite the deployment of almost 300 firefighters, more than 55 square kilometers of pine forest burned down - according to the Avghi newspaper, that is around 54 percent of the dense and previously completely preserved forest.
Fire chief Stefanos Kolokouris spoke of one of the biggest fires of the past "20 to 30 years".
It also erupted unusually early in the season.
The expert Euthymios Lekkas from the University of Athens described the fire as an "ecological catastrophe".
Everything must now be done to avoid landslides and devastating floods in autumn.
Interior Minister Stelios Petsas promised the victims of the serious fires 600 euros in immediate aid.
Up to 6000 more euros could follow an initial damage assessment for reconstruction measures.
At the same time, he announced extensive measures to prevent possible flooding in the region.
Extreme drought, strong winds and temperatures of more than 30 degrees cause devastating forest fires in Greece every summer.
Three years ago, 102 people died in the country's worst fire to date in the seaside resort of Mati near Athens.
Many of the fires are caused by negligence or arson - for property speculation, for example.
According to the Kathimerini newspaper, 26 fires were deliberately started last year, and 179 more were the result of negligent behavior.