Firefighters in Greece say forest fires north of the capital Athens appear to be getting under control as the strong winds subside.

Some 500 firemen have been mobilised, some of them from neighbouring countries, including Turkey.

Over the past few days thousands of have fled the outskirts of Athens where raging fires have damaged or destroyed 150 homes, by the latest count. Thousands of hectares of agricultural land and olive tree orchards have been burnt to cinders. No casualties have been reported.

The forest fires are the worst in Greece in two years. The 2007 fires killed 77 people.

(Forest fire in 2007. Photo: Carl Osbourn/Wikimedia commons)