ATHENS, Greece – Greek ************ battled large brush and forest fires on the outskirts of Athens and in the country’s southern Peloponnese region Friday, where flames forced the ********** of at least three villages and two summer camps.

Strong winds fanned the forest **** in the Lakonia area, on the tip of the Peloponnese. A coast guard vessel and other boats were attempting to ******** scores of people trapped on a beach by the ****, but those rescue efforts were being hampered by rough seas.

Local media reported two summer camps and a health centre in the seaside town of Neapoli had been evacuated.

One of the seven firefighting planes battling the Lakonia **** had to make an ********* landing, and its two pilots were being transferred to a local hospital for first aid. They were not seriously hurt. Two helicopters, 120 ************ and nearly 30 soldiers were fighting the *****.

In Athens, a large brush **** burned across Ymittos hill on the capital’s outskirts. Strong winds were helping the flames devour parts of the verdant hillside popular with day-trippers. More than 70 ************ were battling the *****, along with local volunteers.

************ were also battling a smaller ***** in Koropi, near Athens, and another on the island of Evia, east of the capital.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Greece has requested help from his country’s army and air force, as well as the European ********* response centre. Two water-dropping planes had taken off from the country’s second largest city of Thessaloniki in the north to assist with the Athens *****, he said.

“All forces are on alert,” Tsipras said, noting that the hot, dry and windy conditions made firefighting more difficult.