Fires break out in Attica and Tempe, as two arrested over arson

Three separate fires on Tuesday were stoked by strengthening winds, over a week of high temperatures and inadequate brush-clearing, the Athens-Macedonia News Agency has reported.

Firefighters were battling flames in eastern Attica near the coast of Schinias after a blaze broke out in an area with dry brush and uncleared undergrowth several kilometers from the popular coastal area.

A separate blaze on the medium divide of Poseidonos Avenue brought traffic nearly to a standstill on the southern Athenian coast as firefighting forces had the tricky task of putting out the flames in the middle of the high-speed highway.

In the Vale of Tempe in northern Thessaly, a blaze that started in the brush on the side of the national highway also disrupted the flow of traffic.

Meanwhile in related news, two people were facing arson charges on Tuesday over separate blazes in Crete on Sunday and in western Attica on Monday.

A 37-year-old man was to face a prosecutor in Iraklio after being arrested in connection with a fire on Sunday in the Municipality of Viannos, while a 55-year-old woman will be questioned in connection with a blaze on Monday in Psatha, in Megara.