Athens, Greece CNN —Where just hours ago there were thick rows of trees, now stumps protrude and smoke still rises from scorched soil. “At some point, the fire went faster than the cars,” Vasilis Xypolitas, mayor of Kifisia municipality on the outskirts of Athens, told CNN. Her car, like scores of others lining the roads that climb out of Athens, was burned. More than 700 firefighters, nearly 200 vehicles and 35 water-bombing aircraft were deployed to battle the blaze, Greek public broadcaster ERT reported. Once the winds and the worst of the blaze abated, residents in Chalandri returned to inspect the damage.

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Persons: Greece CNN —, bedsheets –, Vasilis Xypolitas, ”, Sophia, Alexandros Avramidis, Xypolitas Organizations: Greece CNN, CNN, “, ERT, Ministry, Protection Locations: Athens, Greece, Chalandri, Attica, “, Kifisia, Penteli, Varnavas, Grammatiko