Greece Wildfires force Evia Island Residents to Evacuate

Wildfires in Greece continue to tear through the island of Evia, prompting residents to escape by sea to safety.

Over 2,000 people are already evacuated, with elderly residents carried on to ferries.

Local officials say they have not received enough help to fight the fires, and areas of the island are already destroyed.

Temperatures in Greece have reached 45C (113F) as the country is currently experiencing their most severe heatwave in 30 years. These kinds of heatwaves are only going to become more common and extreme because of human induced climate change. Wildfires will likely be fuelled by the hot dry weather that ensues.

In recent days, the country was hit by several wildfires, including in the northern suburb of Athens. Although the blaze in the capital has now subsided.

On Evia, a large island to the north east of Athens, firefighters are struggling to keep the flames at bay in a number of villages. Fires have caused mammoth amounts of destruction, destroying thousands of hectares of land, as well as many houses and businesses.

The fire is showing no signs of subsiding, resulting in many people continuing to evacuate the island, as residents and officials call for more help.

However, the mayor of the municipality of Istiaia in the northern part of Evia says “it’s already too late, the area has been destroyed”. He is appealing for extra help from water bombing planes. But the Civil Protection Chief says that fire causes poor visibility, making it difficult for planes.

A lot of distress

People on the Greek island are finding it hard to breathe because of all the smoke and ash in the air. One evacuated village covered by a plume of orange smoke prompted a tourist waiting for a ferry on the beach to liken it to an apocalyptic movie. There is a lot of distress as everyone remains on alert.

People feel as though the authorities are letting them down by not providing enough help. But the government claims it is doing everything it can.

Meanwhile, in response to Greece’s call for help, several other countries, including France Germany and the UK, are assisting. Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expresses “heartfelt gratitude” to other countries who are sending assistance. He tweeted: “We thank you for standing by Greece during these trying times”.

Elsewhere in Greece, fires in the Peloponnese region are now stable, and those in the northern Athens suburb have subsided. The situation is better, but there are still fears of flare-ups. The military are continuing to patrol the area amid concerns of the fire re-starting.

However, Greece is not the only country battling wildfires at the moment. Turkey is also fighting a series of blazes, labelled the worst in the country’s history. So far, eight people have lost their lives, and thousands forced to leave home. On Saturday, the country announced that 217 fires were contained, while six remained ongoing.

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