Greek wildfire near Athens abates as winds weaken

ATHENS Aug 21 (Reuters) - A wildfire that damaged buildings near Athens and sent people fleeing for safety abated on Friday as weaker winds helped Greek firefighters tackle the blaze, officials said.

More than 300 firefighters with 50 fire trucks, four aircraft and five helicopters were battling the flames in an industrial area near Magoula, 20 km (12 miles) northwest of Athens.

"Our forces are still fighting but the fire has abated as winds are weaker," a fire officer said.

The fire broke out on Thursday close to a plant run by Titan (TTNr.AT), Greece's biggest cement producer. The cause of the blaze was unknown. It spread quickly due to strong winds.

Residents and workers with water hoses and buckets had rushed to put out the flames that burned a warehouse and two trucks, a Reuters witness said.

Gale-force winds fanned more than 100 fires across Greece in less than 24 hours, the fire brigade said. Another fire that damaged homes in central Greece, near the town of Astakos, was under control, officials said.

Wildfires are frequent in Greece during the summer, often caused by high temperatures, drought or arson. Hundreds of fires raged across southern Europe in July, destroying thousands of hectares of forest and gutting dozens of homes.

Greece saw its deadliest wildfires in memory in 2007, when blazes on the island of Evia and the southern Peloponnese peninsula raged for more than 10 days, killing 65 people. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Janet Lawrence)