Residents in the village of Varnava, some 35km north of Athens, were ordered to evacuate on Sunday (August 11), as dozens of firefighters battled to contain blazes fuelled by strong winds and hot temperatures.

More than 190 firefighters were trying to contain a fire that had reached homes by late afternoon. They were backed up by 40 trucks, 11 water-bombing aircraft and five helicopters.

"The village was surrounded in no time, in no time. There is no logic to that, it's really windy. It was like if there were many fire fronts. It started from one point and suddenly the whole village was surrounded", said resident Katerina Fylaktou.

Fire crews were also tackling a fire in a forested area near the town of Megara, west of Athens.

The fires sent thick brown smoke over parts of Athens.

Several other regions across Greece were on high alert for fire risk on Sunday and Monday.

(Production: Angelos Tsatsis, Hamuda Hassan, Alkis Konstantinidis)