ATHENS, July 4, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A wildfire on the island of Crete that forced the evacuation of 5,000 tourists and locals is "retreating", Greek firefighters told AFP on Friday, but a new blaze fanned by strong winds is spreading east of the capital, Athens.

Hot dry weather in Greece -- not unusual for this time of year -- has heightened the risk of summer wildfires, and scientists say human-driven climate change is making them more frequent and more intense.

The new wildfire broke out at Koropi, a town some 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of Athens, where residents received text messages from civil protection units urging them to evacuate the vicinity.

That fire "has reached the courtyards of the houses", Koropi mayor Dimitris Kiousis told public television channel ERT.

"The fire is ongoing. All residents (in threatened areas) have been evacuated," Thodoris Grivas, deputy mayor of Koropi, told ERT.

"We do not yet know the extent of the disaster," Grivas added.

A fire department official later told AFP that the situation appeared "improved". "There remain some scattered clusters," he added.

In all, 120 firefighters were at the scene, with 30 engines, eight planes and the same number of helicopters, fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyannis told reporters.

A coastguard vessel was patrolling nearby.

Concerns remain for the coming days, particularly Saturday. when temperatures are due to rise, with the risk of fire still high.

Temperatures are forecast to reach up to 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) in some areas of the country, according to the EMY weather agency.

Greece had until now been generally spared the heatwave roasting parts of Europe, particularly Spain, Portugal and France over recent days.

- High risk -

Early on Friday afternoon, at least two water bombers and two helicopters were battling flames fanned by strong winds blowing across Attica, the Athens region, and the capital itself.

The fire was destroying olive trees and brushwood, ERT images showed. 

Firefighters earlier managed to bring under control a separate fire which had on Thursday threatened the port of Rafina, around 20 kilometres northeast of Koropi, after some 300 local people were evacuated from their homes.

Fire crews remained on alert, as the Rafina wildfire was not far from Athens International Airport and winds still posed a threat.

The blaze destroyed a several houses and vehicles, local mayor Dimitris Markou told ERT. 

It also disrupted ferries to and from tourist islands in the western Aegean, including Mykonos. 

On the island of Crete, around 230 firefighters, 48 fire engines and six helicopters remained at the scene near the resort town of Ierapetra, even though the blaze was receding.

Some 3,000 visitors had been forced to leave their hotels and guest houses on Wednesday evening and 2,000 local residents were also evacuated, authorities said.

"The fire is retreating," Vathrakoyannis told AFP.

"There are still fears of flare-ups but there is no longer a major front," he added.

Scattered hot spots still remained and firefighters were dealing with several smoke-filled areas from which flare-ups had restarted, the fire department told the ANA press agency.

Weakening winds in the hard-to-reach area had improved the situation, firefighters said, although a fire brigade spokesperson had warned overnight of some "difficult" days ahead. 

Last month, fires on Greece's fifth-biggest island Chios, in the northern Aegean, destroyed 4,700 hectares (11,600 acres) of land, according to the WWF and the National Observatory of Athens research institute.

The most destructive year for wildfires was 2023, when nearly 175,000 hectares were lost and there were 20 deaths.