(Bloomberg) -- Two wildfires broke out Saturday near Greece’s capital, with a third igniting on the island of Serifos in Cyclades, as much of the nation remains on high alert for fire.  

Evacuations were ordered on Serifos, as fire threatened properties. The fire service is sending more personnel to the island to contain the blaze, but it takes several hours to get there from neighboring islands and from Athens — and strong winds in the Aegean Sea are making traveling even harder. 

One of the fires near Athens erupted on Mount Parnitha — which suffered last year from severe wildfires — and burned a forested area. The smoke could be seen, and the burning smelled, from Athens. Fire services managed to control the blaze in three hours. 

A second fire broke out in the area of Apsropirgos, northwest of Athens, where wildfires ignited in 2023 and earlier this year. Authorities asked residents to evacuate part of the area as firefighters worked to prevent the blaze from spreading. 

Half of Greece is under high or very high fire alerts this weekend, mainly due to strong winds that in some cases reached 88 kilometers (55 miles) per hour. In the 24 hours through Saturday evening, the fire department faced 54 forest fires. 

That followed an almost two-week period of continuous battles with fires across the country amid higher-than-normal temperatures, heavy winds and dryness that have combined to create tinderbox conditions. 

In the 24 hours through Friday evening the country faced 44 fires. At the same time, heavy rains in the north washed out roads in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city.

The government has put in place extra measures such as surveillance patrols from the air and land patrols by armed forces. It’s also banned people from staying in vulnerable areas like forests and national parks. 

Greece, Spain and Italy are expected to experience their hottest summer conditions in July, according to meteorologists surveyed by Bloomberg. Temperatures in Greece climbed above 40C (104F) in June. 

(Updates with Serifos fire from the first paragraph.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.