Wildfire on Greek island of Rhodes forces evacuation of more than 20,000 people

A wildfire that has raged on the Greek island of Rhodes for six days forced thousands of tourists and island residents to shelter in schools and indoor stadiums on Sunday after they were evacuated from coastal villages and resorts.

Coastguard vessels and dozens of private boats carried more than 2,000 tourists from beaches on Saturday after the wildfire was fanned by strong winds and rekindled along the southeastern part of island popular for beaches and ancient ruins.

The wildfires have burned out of control and officials feared that high winds would hamper efforts to contain the flames

Many fled their hotels when huge flames reached the seaside villages of Kiotari, Gennadi, Pefki, Lindos, Lardos and Kalathos. Large groups gathered in the streets under a smoke-filled red sky waiting to be taken to safety.

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“We have between 4,000 and 5,000 people now accommodated at different structures,” Thanasis Virinis, a vice mayor of Rhodes told Mega television on Sunday, calling for donations of essentials such as mattresses and bedclothes.

One government official told Reuters 19,000 people had been moved from their homes and hotels, and thousands spent the night outdoors but

The Greek foreign ministry set up a help desk at Rhodes airport to help organise tourists’ exit from the island, including for those who have lost travel documents, the British embassy in Athens said.

Greek authorities said the evacuation was among the biggest operations of that kind the country had conducted. There have been no reports of casualties.

Konstantia Dimoglidou, a Greek police spokesperson, told Agence France-Presse: “We had to evacuate an area of 30,000 people … This is the biggest fire evacuation ever in Greece.” She said the evacuations had gone “smoothly”.

Ian Murison, from London, likened the evacuation to “the end of the world” as the sea turned black with soot and people rushed towards rescue boats.

Mr Murison said he and his family had walked almost four miles in scorching heat towards Gennadi beach.

“Thousands moved on to the beach. It was impossible to get on to coaches because people just ran. It was literally like the end of the world and the flames were now far more visible because of course it’s night-time and we couldn’t see that during the day,” he told Sky News.

“Suddenly there were leaping flames into the sky, and the sky was completely orange in the distance, so that sort of set about a level of panic.”

Mr Murison said there were hundreds or thousands of people left on the beach, which was littered with suitcases that had been thrown off the rescue boat so more families could be taken to safety.

More than 250 firefighters were trying to contain the flames, assisted by 15 aircraft, state television said.

Volunteers fought to extinguish a blaze that blackened the hillside and charred buildings near Lindos, one of the island’s most-visited sites and famed for an acropolis perched on a massive rock within medieval walls.

Officials have warned of a very high risk of wildfires on Sunday in almost half of Greece, where temperatures were expected to hit 45 degrees. Heatwaves across Southern Europe and many parts of the world could last until August.

Fires are common in Greece but hotter, drier and windy summers have brought more of them in recent years. Climate change means heatwaves will become more frequent, an advieor to the World Meteorological Organization said on Saturday.

On Rhodes, the evacuees, including residents from the villages, were housed at hotels, indoor stadiums, conference centres and school buildings, fire brigade spokesman Ioannis Artopoios told Skai radio.

“They have been given food, water and medical help,” he said, adding that the Greek foreign ministry will assist foreigners who want to leave the country at the Rhodes airport.

Firefighters, backed by aircraft that dropped water, battled three fronts on Sunday, setting up firebreaks to prevent flames from spreading to a dense forest or threatening more residential areas.

The fire has scorched swathes of forest and several buildings since breaking out in a mountainous area on Tuesday.

Firefighters battled blazes in the southern Italian region of Calabria on Sunday, and forecasters warned temperatures were set to soar again in parts of the country over the next day or two.

Fires were burning in woods and vegetation in various parts of the region, the most southerly part of the Italian mainland, after temperatures climbed to over 40 degrees over the past week.

Additional teams of firefighters were called in from the regions of Campania and Lazio, as well as the Sicilian city of Messina.

Pope Francis said on Sunday that recent heatwaves across many parts of the world and flooding in countries such as South Korea showed that more urgent action was needed to tackle climate change.

“Please, I renew my appeal to world leaders to do something more concrete to limit polluting emissions,” the pope said at the end of his Angelus message to crowds in St Peter’s Square.

“It is an urgent challenge, it cannot be postponed, it concerns everyone. Let us protect our common home,” the pope added.

In the United States, Phoenix, Arizona, has had 70 days where temperatures have not dipped below 32 degrees, including a three-week stretch where temperatures reached 43 degrees in the state capital. – Agencies