/europe
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greek police and the Fire Service say hundreds of local residents and factory workers have been evacuated from homes and businesses north of Athens, as a large forest fire forced authorities to suspend northbound train services and close a section of Greece's main highway.
The blaze swept through a pine forest in the Varymbobi area, 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) north of Athens.
Haris Damaskos, deputy regional governor for eastern Attica, says "the factory evacuations were ordered as a precaution."
Authorities on Wednesday also declared a disaster on the island of Rhodes, where a fire forced the evacuation of at least two mountain villages but did not threaten the island's popular tourist resorts.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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