Wildfires have erupted in many parts of Greece during a week long heatwave, it was the worst in three decades, with searing temperatures and hot winds creating tinderbox conditions. Sources: Reuters, SBS
Thousands of people have fled their homes on the Greek island of Evia as wildfires burned uncontrolled for a sixth day on Sunday, and ferries were on standby for more evacuations after taking many to safety by sea.
Fires that had threatened northern suburbs of Athens in recent days died back somewhat.
But the blaze on Evia, a large island east of the capital, quickly burgeoned into several fronts, ripping through thousands of hectares of pristine forest across its northern part, and forcing the evacuation of dozens of villages.
“I feel angry. I lost my home… nothing will be the same the next day,” said one resident who gave her name as Vasilikia after boarding a rescue ferry at the village of Psaropouli.
“It’s a disaster. It’s huge. Our villages are destroyed, there is nothing left from our homes, our properties, nothing, nothing,” she said.
Across the country, forest land has burned and dozens of homes and businesses have been destroyed.
Greece has deployed the army to help battle the fires and several countries including France, Egypt, Switzerland and Spain have also sent help including firefighting aircraft. More than 570 firefighters are battling the blaze in Evia, authorities said.
The coastguard has evacuated more than 2,000 people, including many elderly residents, from different parts of the island since Tuesday, in dramatic sea rescues as the night sky turned red from the flames.
The governor for central Greece, Fanis Spanos, said the situation in the north of the island had been “very difficult” for nearly a week.
“The fronts are huge, the area of burned land is huge,” he told Skai TV. More than 2,500 people have been accommodated in hotels and other shelters, he said.
In other parts of the world there are similar wildfires raging at the moment including in the US, Turkey, Bolivia and Siberia.
