Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Greece declared a state of emergency as a major forest fire northeast of the capital Athens was fanned toward homes by high winds.

The region affected was eastern Attica, according to Margaritis Mouzas, head of the country’s Civil Protection Agency, according to a statement posted on its Web site. The situation is “difficult” because the fire’s in a forest containing a number of homes, Fire Department spokesman Ioannis Kapakis said in televised statement on state TV NET.

Twelve aircraft were involved in battling the blaze, at Grammatikos, about 40 kilometers northeast of the capital, as well as seven helicopters, 53 fire engines and a force of 160 firefighters, assisted by 50 additional firefighters and the air force.

Reinforcements were expected, Kapakis said, and he also called for residents to assist those who need to evacuate the immediate area. Early in the day, the high winds sent smoke from the fires over downtown Athens.

Greece suffers dozens of fires daily over the summer period with most being brought under control in a matter of hours. Two years ago this month, scorching temperatures and high winds combined to cause over 250 blazes, which killed 65 people and destroyed 250,000 acres of forest and farmland. The country declared a national emergency on Aug. 25, 2007, deploying nearly 15,000 firefighters to put out the flames. The blazes fires left 2,500 people homeless.

Kapakis said fires were also affecting the islands of Skyros and Zakynthos.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Petrakis in Athens at mpetrakis@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 22, 2009 09:36 EDT