Firebreaks halt blaze on Greek island, homes saved

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Fire Service and municipal crews dug firebreaks outside evacuated villages on the Greek island of Lesbos halting a wildfire that had threatened scores of homes, authorities said. The overnight work, using excavators and other heavy machinery, took place before six water-dropping planes returned to the southern coast of the eastern Aegean Sea island where the fire was burning for a third day. Heat wave temperatures continued to make conditions difficult, mostly in southern Greece where fire warnings remain in effect and national parks are closed to the public.