Wildfire in Greece Tears Through Defenses and Forces New Evacuations

Strong winds and continuous heat waves that dried out scrubland and woodlands to the point of tinder-dryness on Monday fueled three large fires that were blazing elsewhere in Greece. A week-old blaze on the Greek vacation island of Rhodes tore through defenses, prompting further evacuations.

The most recent evacuations were ordered in south Rhodes after 19,000 people, largely tourists, were relocated over the weekend out of the way of the fire that spread from adjacent highlands to numerous coastal communities. The nation’s largest evacuation attempt in recent years was this one.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, “We are at war — completely focused on the fires,” during a parliamentary discussion. “We must maintain a state of constant alertness over the next few days and weeks.”

Help from the European Union and other sources kept coming in, and firefighting aircraft from Turkiye joined the work on Rhodes. Despite poor visibility, 10 water-dropping aircraft and 10 helicopters hovered over flames that were up to 5 meters (16 feet) tall.

The Greek mainland had lows of the 40s Celsius (over 104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, after highs of 45 degrees (113 degrees Fahrenheit).

On Saturday, while his family attempted to flee the flames, Ian Murison, a businessman from London who was vacationing in southern Rhodes with his wife and 12-year-old son, detailed their horror.

“We saw flames crossing the hills. There was just one bus waiting, despite the fact that our hotel could accommodate 1,200 guests, he stated. “We just picked up our bags and began to move. We had to go over 2 miles, or 3 kilometers, to emerge from the ash cloud.

The family arrived to a nearby beach, where they awaited being evacuated by bus or boat among hundreds of other people in the dark owing to a power outage.

Murison described chaotic scenes as evacuees hurried to board tiny boats that were coming to carry them away. “You could see an orange glow in the sky and it got more and more, big balls of fire going into the sky,” Murison said.

Adults were battling to get on next, regardless of whether they had children, he said. It was quite stressful.

An area brush fire was put out using fire extinguishers, towels, and buckets of pool water, as seen by AP reporters close to the beach resort of Lindos. Local people and firemen also assisted.

Additionally, midnight evacuations were requested for the western island of Corfu, where over 2,000 people were transported to safety by land and water, the island of Evia, and a hilly region in the southern Peloponnese.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, tweeted that she spoke with the prime minister late Sunday to offer more support as Greece “is confronted with devastating forest fires and a heavy heat wave due to climate change.”

addressing the legislature. Mitsotakis also emphasized the danger posed by climate change, which he said “will make its presence ever more felt with greater natural disasters throughout the Mediterranean region”.

According to government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, an average of 50 new wildfires have started in Greece every day for the previous 12 days. There were 64 new fires reported on Sunday.

The Rhodes fire raged down mountain slopes, destroying buildings, vehicles, and animals that were trying to flee.

No significant injuries were recorded, according to the authorities, but hospitals and health volunteers treated tourists and other people who needed first aid, mostly for heat exhaustion and dehydration.

In southern Italy, where residents have endured weeks of sweltering weather in the upper 30s and mid-40s Celsius (113 F and beyond), firefighters also battled fires on Monday.

Numerous more fires, including one near the beach town of Cefalu, also broke out on the Mediterranean island of Sicily near Palermo. Also experiencing flames were the rocky Aspromonte Mountains in Calabria.

The tarmac at Olbia was assessed to be dangerously hot on Monday afternoon, according to RAI state TV, forcing three aircraft from Milan, Paris, and Amsterdam to land at other airports on the Italian island of Sardinia. The asphalt heated up to a scorching 47 C (116.6 F).

Several airlines, notably easyJet and package holiday company Tui, despatched flights to Rhodes to rescue visitors evicted from hotels as a result of the fires in Greece. The island, a well-liked vacation spot, has between 7,000 and 10,000 British citizens living there, according to the UK government.

Some travelers said that travel agencies had not offered assistance or information. In order to help travelers who had misplaced their travel papers, representatives from the Greek Foreign Ministry were working at the international airport alongside numerous embassies and diplomats who had flown in from the UK.

In Greece, Rhodes is one of the most well-liked vacation spots, drawing roughly 2.5 million visitors annually. Some vacationers were still leaving the island on Monday, while others were coming from other European countries to begin their vacations at resorts unaffected by the blaze, accounting for 90% of all tourists, according to Greek officials.

In order to prioritize resources and determine the extent of the fire’s devastation, Greece is employing an EU satellite service. A brown burn scar in the form of an hourglass could be seen running across the center of the island in photos the agency posted online.

On Rhodes, where schools and athletic facilities had been opened to aid in the endeavor, the army was also assisting with the construction of temporary housing.

There will be a little break from the heat on Monday, with highs of 38 C (100 F) predicted. However, beginning on Tuesday, there will be another round of high temperatures, with milder conditions predicted for Thursday.