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Crete wildfire forces evacuations
Firefighters battled to contain a spate of wildfires in Greece, including on the tourist island of Crete, where the blaze forced thousands of locals and holidaymakers to evacuate and left three firefighters dead.
“forced officials to evacuate some 8,000 people overnight”
The Crete fire, south of the city of Rethymno, threatened the village resort of Agia Galini and had officials evacuate some 8,000 people overnight as it moved near the coast.
Fire service and weather details described how wind shears in the Rethymno area were recorded at up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) per hour, creating a fire front of over 12 kilometres.
Two firefighters were trapped on a mountain road near the village of Krya Vrysi and died as the winds kept changing direction, and a third firefighter collapsed and died during efforts to put out a separate fire near Gytheio in the Peloponnese peninsula.
By Thursday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned of "difficult days" ahead while the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was preparing additional support.
Wind shifts hamper response
On Thursday, Greek firefighters kept battling deadly wildfires on Crete for a second day as strong winds made it difficult to contain the flames and limited aerial firefighting.
The DW report said the winds had reached speeds of up to 102 kilometers (63 miles) per hour, and it quoted deputy regional governor for civil protection Giorgos Tsapakos saying, "Unfortunately there is no improvement, and the latest information indicates that winds will increase later in the day."
DW also described how two firefighters died after being trapped on a mountain road, losing their bearings as smoke enveloped them, while a third died fighting a separate blaze near Gytheio.
In parallel, the France 24 account said the fire department dedicated a force of over 200 firefighters and 53 fire engines to the Crete blaze, but violent wind prevented aircraft from taking on seawater.
France 24 added that the coast guard carried out numerous evacuations on Wednesday as the fire got to within a kilometre of Agia Galini before changing direction in the evening.
Aftermath and wider European risk
As the Crete situation evolved, the Rethymno-area evacuations were described as threatening the resort village of Agia Galini while the toll remained unclear because the fire was ongoing.
“"It was a dark day,"”
The New Indian Express reported that the evacuations were decided as the fire, which broke out Wednesday and had earlier killed two firefighters, got to within a kilometre of the village before changing direction in the evening, and it quoted Maria Lioni saying, "It was a dark day."
The New Indian Express also said the fire department had dedicated a force of over 200 firefighters and 53 fire engines in the Rethymno area, while winds of up to 102 kilometres (63 miles) per hour were preventing most aircraft from taking on seawater.
Beyond Greece, DW said firefighting efforts in France and Spain were turning a corner, including France permitting the return of 84,000 evacuees from a wildfire near Bordeaux after around 220,000 people had been displaced.
DW added that Spain’s wildfire threatening Madrid was abating, with authorities reporting "almost no flames" left, as Greece’s civil protection ministry placed several areas on near-maximum fire alert for Thursday, including Crete and most of the Aegean islands.
