Fires rapidly spread across Greek isles
As residents and tourists flee, allies send aid
ATHENS — Residents and tourists have fled wildfires in two more favorite Greek destinations, Corfu and Evia, and the blazes that have gripped the island of Rhodes for seven days, prompting an evacuation that officials described as the largest in Greece’s history, spread into a village.
The new fires led authorities to clear hundreds more people from hotels and homes in Corfu on Sunday night to safer areas on the island and to order evacuations on Evia on Monday. In Rhodes — where the British media have compared the relocation operation to the evacuation of troops from the French port of Dunkirk in World War II — tourists were still sleeping in schools, gymnasiums, and hotel lobbies.
The outbreaks complicated the efforts of emergency services already battling blazes on Rhodes, where Greece’s military has been supporting the response. A military transport aircraft brought in hundreds of cots, sleeping bags, and other provisions for displaced tourists and locals Sunday evening. Another delivery was set to follow Monday.
The village struck by fire on Rhodes on Monday was Asklipieio, in the island’s southeast.
On Evia, a fire spread in the south Monday, prompting authorities to order the evacuation of a village, and another blaze broke out in the middle of the island.
The fight against the fires has drawn international support. The European Union has sent water-bombing aircraft and more than 450 firefighters to aid areas in Greece, the European commissioner for crisis management, Janez Lenarcic, wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
“Greece, we are by your side,” he wrote in Greek. Other countries, including Egypt, Turkey, and Israel, have sent aircraft to help.
In Corfu, another popular tourist destination, more than 2,000 people were evacuated from 12 villages Sunday night, Greece’s fire service spokesperson, Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis, said at a news briefing. It was unclear how many of the evacuees were tourists.
Greece’s coast guard took part in the rescue, transferring many of the evacuees Sunday night to safer parts of Corfu aboard patrol vessels and private boats. Television footage and videos posted on social media showed the night sky glowing orange as the fire advanced across a mountain ridge.
Greek television showed volunteers using tree branches Sunday night to try to pound out a wildfire on a roadside on Corfu as firefighters used a hose to spray water into a larger blaze farther along the route. The fire on Corfu had been partially contained overnight, allowing some tourists to return to their hotels, according to state television.
As a fire in Rhodes continued to burn in the island’s southeast, airlines were able to ferry some travelers away from the island’s airport, where authorities were distributing water and snacks to passengers. A total of 1,489 people left on overnight flights, mostly to Britain, Germany, and Italy, Greece’s Civil Protection Ministry said.
The British Foreign Office also sent a team to Rhodes Airport to help with the relocation of British nationals.
Some airlines and the tour operators Tui UK and Jet2, which have suspended scheduled flights into the island, sent empty planes to Rhodes to bring travelers back.
While many tourists fled Rhodes, others said they wanted to stay and salvage what they could of their vacations.
Efforts to douse the blazes came amid a blistering heat wave that has stoked tinderdry conditions across Greece and much of Southern Europe, which is recording some of the hottest temperatures of the year, representing a serious threat, especially to older people and outdoor workers. In Greece, temperatures reached 113 degrees Sunday.