Greece wildfire destroys area bigger than New York City

View of a burned forest following a wildfire, near the village of Avantas in the region of Evros, Greece, August 28, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis

EVROS, Greece/ATHENS (Reuters) - A wildfire burning in northeastern Greece for 11 days has destroyed an area larger than New York City, the European Union-backed Copernicus Climate Change Service said on Tuesday, as firefighters from five countries battled to contain the flames.

Fuelled by gale force winds and hot weather, the fire that began near the city of Alexandroupolis quickly spread across the Evros region, killing at least 20 people last week in Europe's deadliest blaze this summer. It turned lush greenery into scorched earth and destroyed homes and livelihoods.