Greece continues to battle major wildfire west of Athens

ATHENS (NBC, KYMA) - Water dropping planes and helicopters took off at first light Monday to help hundreds of firefighters battling a major wildfire West of Athens, Greece.

Flames bore down deeper into the region of the Greek capital, forcing fresh evacuations in the early hours of Monday.

The blaze raged through pine forests and scrubland through the weekend, whipped by gale force winds that often prevented water-dropping planes from operating.

Strong winds were dying down Monday, raising hopes that the nearly 500 firefighters battling the blaze could manage to halt its advance.

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from the region, including more than 250 rescued by boats from beaches in the area.

Evacuation orders were issued in the early hours of Monday for three more areas, while crews worked to create firebreaks in a forest to help halt the advance of the blaze.

On Sunday, Greece's firefighting department said the fire apparently began from sparks emitted by a faulty power line transporting electricity from a private wind generator facility to the main electricity network.

Two people were arrested, an electrical engineer responsible for designing and overseeing the power project, and a contractor involved in constructing the electricity transmission network.

Both face felony arson charges, while authorities had also issued an arrest warrant for the owner of the wind generator company.

Greece has devastating wildfires every summer, with hot, dry conditions and frequently strong winds making it easy for small sparks to trigger major blazes.

Measures to limit fire risks, such as bans on barbecues and certain outdoor work such as welding and use of electrical power saws are often ignored.

The vast majority of the hundreds of wildfires the country has each year are caused by negligence.