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The fire department said 230 firefighters backed up by 10
water-dropping aircraft were battling the flames, which have
burned through forest and farmland in Crete’s Ierapetra area on
the island’s southern coast. Two people were evacuated by boat
overnight, while six private boats were on standby in case
further evacuations by sea became necessary, the coast guard
said.
Homes were reported damaged as flames swept through hillside
forests, fanned by strong winds.
“It’s a very difficult situation. The fire is very hard to
contain. Right now, they cannot contain it,” Nektarios Papadakis,
a civil protection official at the regional authority, told The
Associated Press overnight.
“The tourists who were moved out are all okay. They have been
taken to an indoor basketball arena and hotels in other regions
of the island,” he said.
The Fire Service and a civil protection agency issued mobile
phone alerts for the evacuations and appealed to residents not
to return to try to save their property.
As fires crested ridgelines and edged toward residential areas,
the blaze sent clouds of ash into the night sky, illuminated by
the headlights of emergency vehicles and water trucks that lined
the coastal road near the resorts of Ferma and Achlia on the
southeast of Crete.
Several residents were treated for breathing difficulties,
officials said, but there were no immediate reports of serious
injuries.
Crete is one of Greece’s most popular destinations for both
foreign and domestic tourists.
The risk of wildfires remained very high across Crete and parts
of southern Greece Thursday, according to a daily bulletin
issued by the Fire Service.
Wildfires are frequent in the country during its hot, dry
summers, and the fire department has already tackled dozens
across Greece so far this year.
In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati,
east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as
they tried to flee. More than 100 died, including some who
drowned while trying to swim away from the flames.
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Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed to this report.
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