Athens - Firefighters battled to contain a forest fire that has been burning out of control on the Greek island of Rhodes for the third straight day, forcing the evacuation of at least two villages, reports said Thursday.

Authorities declared a disaster on the island, where dozens of homes have been burned and at least 2,500 acres of forest destroyed.

At least two mountain villages in the region of Laerma have been evacuated after the fire began destroying homes.

A number of other fires which blazed throughout the night in the Varymbobi area, approximately 20 kilometres from Athens, and in Mani in the southern Peloponnese were brought under control on Thursday.

The blaze engulfed more than 400 acres of pine forest in Varymbobi and forced authorities to suspend northbound train services and close a section of Greece's main highway for hours a day earlier.

Greece had to battle hundreds of massive forest fires which broke out in several areas last summer, killing a total of 84 people, including several firefighters.

The most destructive and lethal of the infernos broke out at the end of August in the western and southern Peloponnese as well as the southern island of Evia. (dpa)