Greece wildfires under control but strong winds still a threat, say officials

Wildfires that have scorched Greece for more than two weeks are under control, but firefighters remain in key hotspots as strong winds remain a threat, officials have said.

“Scattered fire pockets are being extinguished,” the fire department said on Saturday, adding that there was “no active front” in the three biggest wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and central Greece that forced thousands of people to flee.

It said more than 460 firefighters were still deployed in the three areas as a precaution, adding: “There is no de-escalation of forces until the major incidents are checked.”

Two weeks of wildfires fed by scorching temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds have caused chaos at the peak of the summer tourist season in Greece.

Almost 20,000 people, mostly tourists, were forced to flee hotels on Rhodes, the island worst affected by the fires, in a single day. The operation was described as the biggest evacuation ever carried out in Greece. A state of emergency was declared in some areas of the popular tourist destination this week.

The fires killed at least five people and burned almost 50,000 hectares (124,000 acres) of forest and vegetation, according to estimates by the Athens Observatory.

Two pilots died on Tuesday when their waterbombing plane crashed while battling a blaze in Evia, while three more bodies were recovered in fires in Evia and near the industrial zone of the port city of Volos in central Greece.

The fires have also put political pressure on the conservative government of the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which was re-elected last month.

The citizen’s protection minister resigned on Friday after it emerged that he had taken a holiday as the country battled the wildfires.

On Friday the country’s senior climate crisis official said most of the 667 blazes in Greece were started “by human hand”.

Vassilis Kikilias, the Greek minister of climate crisis and civil protection, told reporters: “During this time 667 fires erupted – that is more than 60 fires a day – almost all over the country. Unfortunately, the majority were ignited by human hand, either by criminal negligence or intent.”

Experts have said the heatwave in Greece was the longest recorded in July for decades.

Temperatures, which reached 46C (115F) this week, have since begun to fall.

The national weather forecaster, EMY, predicted temperatures would not climb above 37C on Saturday, but that wind gusts could reach 37 mph.

Fires have also flared in Croatia, Italy and Portugal this week, and blazes killed 34 in Algeria in extreme heat that has left landscapes tinder-dry.