Greece battled wildfires on Friday on multiple fronts, from the outskirts of Athens to the central part ​of the country and on the island of Crete, while France and Spain won some respite after bringing major blazes under control.

Axar.az reports, citing Reuters, that Europe has been ravaged by wildfires this ‌summer after successive record-breaking heatwaves, leaving vast stretches of drought-parched vegetation primed to burn, and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

Residents of two communities west of Athens were advised to evacuate as a precaution as smoke billowed from densely wooded hills surrounding the Greek capital, with authorities scrambling a formation of water-bombing aircraft to extinguish the blaze.

In Boeotia, north-west of Athens, hundreds of residents and visitors were evacuated from a small coastal community aboard coast ​guard boats and fishing vessels as thick orange smoke blanketed the area.

As night fell, red glows of towering flames ​were visible on the inaccessible hilly terrain above Porto Germeno, a seaside village which is a popular retreat for Athenians. Residents were advised to leave ⁠the area.

"The winds have died down, that might be the good news of the day. The intensity of the fire seems to have gone down a bit, but it's still a big, uncontrolled ​front," said Georgios Dasiotis, vice prefect of Boeotia prefecture.