A firefighting helicopter operates during efforts to put out wildfire in the area of Leptokarya, Evros, northern Greece, 26 August 2023 (issued 27 August 2023). According to the Fire Department, the main front of the Evros fire is located in the area of Leptokarya, while flare-ups occurred during the night in Dadia. Strong ground firefighting forces, along with volunteer firefighters and forces of the Armed Forces are participating in the operation in Evros, assisted by four aircraft and three helicopters. EPA-EFE/DIMITRIS ALEXOUDIS 
The fire which began near the city of Alexandroupolis has raged uncontrolled in northeastern Greece's Evros region, turbocharged by near-gale force winds and high temperatures. All but one of the victims killed so far were irregular migrants hiding in the forest.
"It is the definition of what we call a megafire," Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told a regular briefing.
The European Union backed Copernicus Climate Change Service said the Evros blaze had burned more than 77,000 hectares of land, making it one of the biggest on European soil in years.
Marinakis said the country's Climate Crisis and Civil Protection minister and other senior government ministers had visited the area to assess the damage.
Lawmakers were expected to discuss the impact of the devastating fires and state preparedness in parliament on Thursday.
A wildfire on the outskirts of Athens which began last Tuesday had abated, the fire brigade said.
Scores of people have had to flee their homes across Greece as hundreds of wildfires erupted across the country in the second major fire outbreak of this summer.
In July, some 20,000 foreign tourists were evacuated from the island of Rhodes where a wildfire burned resorts and hotels.
(Reporting by Karolina Tagaris, Lefteris Papadimas, Renee MaltezouEditing by Peter Graff)