All the children attending the camps near the village of Chiliomodi, about 100 kilomtres (60 miles) west of Athens, were safe and had been transferred to a primary school in the village, the officials said.

Some Chiliomodi homes located near the woods had also been evacuated and traffic had been disrupted on the major highways in the area, including the one linking the Peloponnesian city of Corinth to the Greek capital.

Nearly 300 firefighters, using 70 trucks, 12 planes and four helicopters, had been sent to battle the blaze, which was laying waste to pine forests and farmland and threatening livestock.

The same fire had caused the evacuation of around 30 monks from a monastery in Corinth on Wednesday.

Firefighters had brought the blaze under control on Tuesday before it began burning again Wednesday morning, threatening the village of Mampsos.

Two other fires that erupted Wednesday in Laconia, on the Ionian island of Zakynthos, and in Nafpaktos in the centre of the country were also still burning strong.

More than 100 blazes, fanned by strong winds and soaring temperatures, have occurred since last weekend in Greece, with most having been brought under control, fire officials said.