A bushfire ripped through the Greek island of Rhodes forcing thousands of tourists and island residents to take shelter in schools and covered stadiums on Sunday after they were evacuated from coastal towns and resorts.
Thousands spent the night in the open, tour operators Jet2 and TUI canceled flights to Rhodes with more tourists, while Greek authorities said it was one of the biggest evacuation operations the country had ever carried out.
Coast guard boats and dozens of private boats ferried more than 2,000 tourists from the beaches on Saturday after the fire was fanned by strong winds and reignited along the southeastern part of the island, popular for its beaches and ancient ruins.
Many fled their hotels as the huge flames reached the coastal towns of Kiotari, Gennadi, Pefki, Lindos, Lardos and Kalathos. Large groups gathered in the streets under red skies waiting to be led to safety. The smoke hung heavy over a deserted beach.
“We have between 4,000 and 5,000 people now housed in different structures,” Thanasis Virinis, Rhodes deputy mayor, told Mega television on Sunday, asking for donations of essentials such as mattresses and bedding.
A government official told Reuters that 19,000 people had been moved from their homes and hotels, 3,000 of them on boats. Many of them were assisted by the police. There have been no reports of casualties.
Greece’s foreign ministry was setting up a help desk at Rhodes airport to help organize the departure of tourists from the island, including those who lost their travel documents, the British embassy in Athens said.
Tour operator Jet2 said five planes carrying more tourists to the island would fly empty and take people home on their scheduled flights.
The Greek Civil Protection Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More than 250 firefighters were trying to contain the flames, assisted by 15 planes, state television said.
Fire in Lindos
Volunteers battled to extinguish a fire that blackened the hillside and burned buildings near Lindos, one of the island’s most visited sites and famous for an acropolis perched on a massive rock inside the medieval walls.
Civil protection warned on Sunday of a very high risk of forest fires in almost half of Greece, where temperatures were expected to reach 43 degrees Celsius. Heat waves in southern Europe and many parts of the world could last until August.
Fires are common in Greece, but hotter, drier and windier summers have brought more of them in recent years. Climate change means heat waves will become more frequent, an adviser to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Saturday.
In Rhodes, evacuees, including village residents, were accommodated in hotels, indoor stadiums, conference centers and school buildings, fire brigade spokesman Ioannis Artopoios told Skai radio.
“They have been given food, water and medical aid,” he said, adding that the Greek Foreign Ministry will assist foreigners who want to leave the country at Rhodes airport.
Firefighters, backed by water-dropping planes, fought on three fronts Sunday, setting up fire breaks to prevent the flames from spreading into dense forest or threatening more residential areas.
The fire has burned swathes of forest and several buildings since it broke out in a mountainous area on Tuesday.
