Athens sky covered in smoke due to wildfire in northern suburbs

Flames threaten inhabited area at outskirts of Athens, Greece, on Aug. 25, 2012. 

ATHENS, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Residents of Greece's capital woke up to a sky covered in black smoke on Saturday due to a wildfire raging in the northern suburbs.

Fire Brigade and police officers speaking to local media said that the fire front is under control and that there are suspicions of arson. The same area has been threatened by wildfires several times, such as in the summer of 2009.

The fire broke out before dawn at the outskirts of Afidnes suburb and caused damages to some houses and vehicles, according to early information, while it briefly neared an army base.

More than 100 fire fighters were mobilized to contain the flames, assisted by dozens of vehicles and water dropping aircrafts.

Major wildfires had been raging across Greece over the past week with the worst disaster this summer reported on Chios island at the eastern part of the Aegean Sea, where a quarter of the rare mastic trees cultivations were destroyed.

Greece suffers from hundreds of wildfires during summer time linked to high temperatures and arsons.