Greek wildfires: Hundreds of people evacuated from villages on Chios island as wildfires rage on for third day
Local authorities have declared a state of emergency as hundreds of firefighters continue to battle wildfires on the island, which is in the middle of its tourist season.
Some 444 firefighters assisted by eight aircraft have been deployed to the island in the Aegean Sea to tackle fires that have torn through swathes of forest and agricultural land since Sunday.
The ongoing flames have caused significant disruption, including power outages, water shortages, and damage to property. Fire services hope to prevent the fire reaching areas famous for producing mastiha, a natural resin harvested from mastic trees.
Authorities issued a new alert on Tuesday, advising residents of a seaside village in the south west of the island to leave as white smoke rose over a nearby beach. Greece's public broadcaster live streamed scenes of a helicopter spraying water over the area.
A Greek fire brigade official, who requested anonymity, told Reuters that 'a lot of work is still needed to bring the wildfires under control'. Northerly winds were complicating firefighting efforts, they added.
Greece's minister of climate crisis and civil protection, Yiannis Kefalogiannis, arrived to the island on Monday.
He said: 'The situation on the island since yesterday has been quite difficult because we constantly have new fronts and resurgences and the climatic conditions are not favourable.
'We are faced with simultaneous fires in multiple, geographically unconnected parts of the island — a pattern that cannot be considered coincidental,' he added.
Authorities, he said, were 'very seriously examining the possibility of an organised criminal act, in other words arson.'
The minister said police forces on the island had been reinforced, while military patrols had been doubled.
'Whoever thinks that they can play with the lives of citizens and cause chaos with premeditated actions will be led to court,' Mr Kefalogiannis said. 'Arson is a serious crime and will be dealt with as such.'
Greece is often hit by wildfires during its hot and dry summers, although experts have blamed climate change for fuelling more destructive flames in recent years.
The Independent has contacted the Foreign Office for more information.
Athens has paid out hundreds of millions of euros in damages related to extreme weather to households and farmers and to update firefighting equipment.
It has hired a record 18,000 firefighters this year in anticipation of a challenging fire season.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
40 minutes ago
- The Independent
Second earthquake rattles New York City in four days as tremor recorded in New Jersey
A second earthquake has hit the New York and New Jersey area in a matter of days. The magnitude 2.7 tremor was reported to have occurred in New Jersey Tuesday afternoon, leading to warnings being issued in the Big Apple. 'Tremors may have been felt in parts of New York City,' NYC Emergency Management wrote on X, adding that it was monitoring for impacts and coordinating with agency partners.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Canada wildfires: 81 million Americans under air quality alerts as blazes continue
Hundreds of wildfires continued to burn across Canada and parts of the US on Tuesday sending smoke from the blazes across the region and reducing air quality in both countries. US air quality tanked from the Great Lakes region to the northeast, making skies hazy from Minneapolis to New York City and even prompting a ground stop at Boston's Logan international airport due to 'low visibility' on Monday. Detroit, New York City and Chicago continued to record some of the worst air quality in the world on Tuesday, according to IQAir, ranking fourth, 10th and 11th respectively. In Canada, Montreal and Toronto had seen significant improvements by Tuesday and no longer ranked in the top 20 for unhealthy air. About 81 million Americans remain under air quality alerts in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, northern Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Delaware and Maine, according to the National Weather Service. It is expected to improve for most areas by Wednesday. A high-pressure system parked over the midwest is trapping the smoke in place, causing air quality issues to linger for several days, according to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. There are 747 active wildfires currently burning across Canada, with 507 – over two-thirds – of them out-of-control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), a non-profit organization that is owned by government agencies, including 165 in Manitoba, 134 in British Columbia, and 111 in Northwest Territories. Most of the current fires that are causing the poor, smoggy air quality and reduced visibility are connected to warmer-than-average temperatures, drought conditions, decreased levels of snowpack and low soil moisture, according to Natural Resources Canada. All of those factors are driven by global heating, NRC says. In the western US, a huge wildfire in central California – the Gifford fire – has raged through 72,460 acres in the Los Padres national forest and is only 7% contained, threatening hundreds of homes and so far injuring three people. Firefighters have been battling the blaze, which grew out of several smaller fires that erupted along State Route 166, affecting Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, since Friday. A warming and drying trend was expected to continue from Wednesday through the weekend, with temperatures up to 90F to 100F (32C to 38C) on Thursday and Friday, with increasing fire behavior, officials said. Red flag warnings remain in place for parts of Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming due to very dry conditions, low humidity and gusty winds, with western fires creating smokey skies from Los Angeles to San Diego and to Las Vegas.
BreakingNews.ie
2 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
California wildfire threatens some 800 structures and injures three people
More than 800 structures are threatened by a massive wildfire in central California that left at least three people injured as it burned through Los Padres National Forest. The Gifford Fire scorched more than 113 square miles (293 square kilometres) of coastal Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with 3% containment, according to a US Forest Service update on Monday evening. Advertisement More than 1,900 workers are battling the blaze that grew out of at least four smaller fires that erupted on Friday along State Route 166 between Santa Maria and Bakersfield. The causes of the fires are under investigation. An air tanker drops retardant on the Gifford Fire in Los Padres National Forest (Noah Berger/AP) The National Weather Service's Los Angeles office has warned that the fire continued to generate considerable smoke that will affect parts of south-west California. Smoke was expected to move toward the south and east. The blaze threatened about 872 structures and forced the closure of the highway in both directions east of Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 people in Santa Barbara County. About 65 miles (105 kilometres) northwest of Santa Barbara and 150 miles (240 kilometres) northwest of Los Angeles, the hilly agricultural region is dotted by sprawling California live oaks and Sycamore trees and is known for its wine industry. Advertisement Firefighters made progress on the west, north and east flanks of the fire and significant efforts were made to ensure structure protection on the south end, officials said in an update on Monday evening. Two new base camps were being established on the north and east sides of the fire, allowing more efficient access to the fire perimeter. Firefighters battling the Gifford Fire in California (Noah Berger/AP) Officials said they expected more helicopters to be able to deliver significant water drops on Tuesday with a drone doing reconnaissance. A warming and drying trend was expected to continue from Wednesday through the weekend, with temperatures up on Thursday and Friday, with increasing fire behaviour, officials said. Advertisement A motorist was taken to hospital with burns after getting out of his vehicle and being overrun by flames, US Forest Service spokesperson Flemming Bertelson said. Two contract employees assisting firefighters were also hurt when their all-terrain vehicle overturned. Ranchers evacuated cattle on Monday as aircraft made water drops on the encroaching flames.
