Some 400 mostly Scandinavian tourists were safely evacuated Monday from coastal hotels on the eastern Greek island of Samos after the area was threatened by wildfire, Fire Service officials said.

The tourists, along with a smaller number of local residents, were moved from the area as a precaution and will likely be allowed to return later Monday, the agency said.

There were no reports of property damage from the blaze that swept across forest land at Marathokampos, a western area of the island.

Six water-dropping plans and five helicopters battled the blaze, the third major wildfire to affect the island in two weeks. But as night fell and planes were grounded, additional ground personnel were to arrive by military transport from Athens and Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki.