Britons are stranded on boats while others have been loaded onto coaches and evacuated from their hotels after wildfires swept through the Greek islands and “turned the skies black with smoke”.
The popular tourist destinations of Chios and Kos have become a “tinderbox” after prolonged drought and dry weather sparked infernos with strong winds fanning the flames.
Two firefighters battling blazes on the eastern Aegean islands have been injured, while Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned tourists on Monday that further fires this summer could be “particularly dangerous.”
Thick plumes of black smoke filled the sky in what one Briton described as “apocalyptic” scenes, with tourists receiving emergency alerts on their phones to relocate.
Helicopters and planes have been flying “constantly” over the area dropping gallons of water to fight the wildfires while firefighters travel by boat from the nearby island of Lesbos and Athens to tackle the flames.
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Lottie Westerling (pictured second from right with her friend Kemi) is ‘stranded’ on a boat in the Mediterranean after fleeing her hotel in Kos.
The popular tourist destinations of Chios and Kos have become a “tinderbox” after prolonged drought and dry weather sparked infernos with strong winds fanning the flames.
Clare Smith, 38, is on holiday in Kos with her husband and nine-year-old daughter and was told buses were heading to their hotel on the outskirts of the resort town of Kardamena to pick them up.
Mrs Smith, from Edinburgh, said: News from heaven The smoke-covered sky was like being “in the apocalypse or some kind of war movie.”
Lottie Westerling is on her first trip abroad with her friends and was forced to flee the hotel where she was staying in Kos. They are currently “stranded” on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea.
They were previously evacuated to a beach “where there are police officers” and told to climb onto boats bobbing in the water as it was too dangerous to stand on the sand.
But she said: “We don’t really know if we’re going or where at the moment, so we’re stranded on the boat.”
Speaking to Sky News, he described seeing orange lights in the distance growing larger as the winds grew stronger and said: “It’s like a bonfire.”
Emergency services issued evacuation orders for those in the Metohi area in western Chios this morning, urging them to head to a nearby beach.
One Briton described seeing the sky filled with black smoke as being “like being in the apocalypse or some kind of war movie”.
KERATEA — Smoke rises from a house during a wildfire in the Keratea region near Athens
KERATEA — People cover their faces as they flee a forest fire
STAMATA — Firefighters are trying to extinguish a forest fire in the region
STAMATA — A volunteer stands on a roof as flames rise from a wildfire burning behind
STAMATA — A firefighter stands near a raging inferno.
KERATEA — Smoke rises from a destroyed house as a wildfire rages near Athens, June 30.
KERATEA — Flames rise next to a house as a wildfire rages on June 30
KERATEA — Firefighters and helicopters are trying to control a large forest fire. Many houses were evacuated and burned during the forest fire that took place
STAMATA — A volunteer tries to extinguish a forest fire near Athens, June 30.
By afternoon, more than 140 firefighters, along with eight teams specialising in forest fires, seven water-dropping aircraft and three helicopters, were battling the blaze.
Fire department spokesman Vasilis Vathrakoyiannis said two firefighters were “lightly” injured, while dozens more were heading to Chios by boat from the nearby island of Lesbos and from Athens.
“The situation remains difficult on Chios and all Civil Protection forces will make great efforts to contain it,” Vathrakoyiannis said during an afternoon briefing.
Another fire further south in the Aegean on the island of Kos had eased by Monday evening, although some areas were still burning, Vathrakoyiannis said.
More than 100 firefighters, including reinforcements sent from Athens, are working on the blaze, as well as six water-dropping planes and two helicopters, he added.
In total, 52 forest fires broke out in Greece in the past 24 hours, 44 of which were tackled in the early stages, Vathrakoyiannis said.
As of Monday evening, authorities were still battling a total of eight fires.
The fires come a day after the fire department managed to control two large wildfires near Athens that had been fanned by strong winds.
“We have had an exceptionally difficult June in terms of weather conditions, with high levels of drought and unusually strong winds for this season,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Monday during a Cabinet meeting.
STAMATA — A firefighter and volunteers try to extinguish a wildfire on June 30.
STAMATA — Firefighters battle blazes in region near Greek capital
KERATEA — A firefighting helicopter flies over a firefighter and volunteers trying to extinguish a wildfire, June 30.
KERATEA — A helicopter sprays water on a military camp during a forest fire
KERATEA — People try to put out a forest fire with a branch.
KERATEA — A firefighter works to extinguish a raging forest fire
KERATEA — Columns of black smoke rise into the air, June 30
KERATEA — A firefighter watches smoke rise as flames engulf a tree.
KERATEA — Fire helicopters are dropping gallons of water to fight the blaze
STAMATA — A firefighter looks on as they try to extinguish the flames.
KERATEA — A destroyed house is seen in the middle of a burnt area
“This summer is expected to be particularly dangerous,” he said.
Mitsotakis said the use of drones as part of an early warning system for wildfires had been particularly useful this year and credited improved coordination between authorities and volunteer firefighters with limiting the extent of damage caused by the fires so far.
“We are entering the most difficult phase of the fight against fires, and this will certainly not be achieved without the help of the population, especially in the field of prevention,” Mitsotakis said.
Hot, dry weather combined with strong winds helped fuel fires in both Greece and Turkey last month. This year’s summer is expected to be particularly fire-prone after a particularly mild and dry winter. Last year, extensive wildfires in Greece killed more than 20 people.
Are you in the Greek Islands? Email matt.strudwick@mailonline.co.uk
