[1/3] Men help a firefighter as they try to extinguish a wildfire burning near the village Vlyhada, near Athens, Greece, July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Stelios MisinasATHENS, July 20 (Reuters) - Wildfires across Greece were largely contained on Thursday after razing swathes of forest and dozens of homes for days, though a new heatwave loomed, threatening to stoke tinderbox conditions across the country. A fire west of Athens which prompted mass evacuations earlier in the week was contained, a fire brigade official said. Land and aerial firefighting forces will continue preventive patrolling in forests across Greece amid difficult conditions, authorities said late on Wednesday. Fires are common in Greece, but hotter, drier and windy summers have turned the Mediterranean into a wildfire hotspot in recent years.

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Persons: Stelios Misinas, Angeliki, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Firefighters, Thomson Locations: Athens, Greece, Stelios Misinas ATHENS, stoke, Rhodes