‘Apocalyptic’ scenes in Greece as wildfires tear through islands and ‘turn the sky black with smoke’ forcing holidaymakers to be evacuated after a prolonged drought turns the popular tourist destinations of Chios and Kos into a ‘tinderbox’
Britons are stuck on boats while others have been loaded onto buses and evacuated from their hotels after wildfires ravaged the Greek islands, leaving “the sky black with smoke”.
Popular tourist destinations Chios and Kos have been turned into a ‘powder keg’ after a prolonged drought and drought caused infernos, with strong winds fanning the flames.
Two firefighters battling fires on the eastern Aegean islands were injured, with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warning holidaymakers today that new fires this summer could be “particularly dangerous”.
Plumes of thick black smoke filled the air. One Briton described it as “apocalyptic” scenes. Tourists received emergency messages on their phones asking them to move.
Helicopters and planes are flying overhead ‘constantly’ dumping gallons of water to battle the raging wildfires, while firefighters battle the flames by boat from the nearby island of Lesbos and Athens.
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Lottie Westerling (pictured second from right with her friend Kemi) is ‘stranded’ on a boat in the Mediterranean after leaving her hotel in Kos
Popular tourist destinations Chios and Kos have been turned into a ‘powder keg’ after a prolonged drought and dry spell caused infernos with strong winds fanning the flames
Clare Smith, 38, is on holiday in Kos with her husband and nine-year-old daughter when she was told that buses were on their way to her hotel outside the resort of Kardamena to pick them up.
Mrs Smith from Edinburgh said Sky News The sky was covered in smoke, it looked like we were in the apocalypse or a war movie.
Lottie Westerling is on her first trip abroad with her friends and had to flee her hotel in Kos. They are now ‘stranded’ on a boat in the Mediterranean.
They were earlier evacuated to a beach “where there are police officers” and told to get into boats floating on the water because it was too dangerous to remain standing on the sand.
But she said, ‘We don’t really know where we’re going at this point and we’re stuck on the boat.’
Speaking to Sky News, she described seeing orange lights in the distance that grew larger as the wind picked up. She said: ‘It looks very bonfire-like.’
Emergency services have issued an evacuation order this morning for people in the Metohi area of western Chios, urging them to move to a nearby beach.
A Briton described the air filled with black smoke as if you were ‘in the apocalypse, or in a war film’
KERATEA — Smoke rises from a house during a forest fire in the Keratea region near Athens
KERATEA — People cover their faces while running away from a forest fire
STAMATA — Firefighters try to extinguish a forest fire in the region
STAMATA — A volunteer stands on a roof as flames flare from a forest fire raging behind the roof.
STAMATA — A firefighter stands near a raging blaze
KERATEA — Smoke rises from a destroyed house as a forest fire rages near Athens, June 30
KERATEA — Flames burst next to a house as a forest fire rages, June 30
KERATEA — Firefighters and helicopters are trying to get a large forest fire under control. Many homes were evacuated and homes were burned during the forest fire that took place
STAMATA — A volunteer tries to extinguish a forest fire raging near Athens, June 30
By evening, more than 140 firefighters, along with eight teams of wildfire specialists, seven firefighting aircraft and three helicopters were battling the blaze.
Fire department spokesman Vasilis Vathrakoyiannis said two firefighters had been “lightly” injured, while dozens of other firefighters were en route to Chios by boat from the nearby island of Lesbos and from Athens.
“The situation in Chios remains difficult and all Civil Protection Services will do everything they can to contain the situation,” Vathrakoyiannis said at an evening briefing.
Another fire raging further south in the Aegean Sea, on the island of Kos, had subsided by Monday evening, although some areas were still burning, Vathrakoyiannis said.
According to him, the fire was fought by more than 100 firefighters, including reinforcements from Athens, plus six fire-fighting planes and two helicopters.
A total of 52 forest fires have broken out in Greece in the past 24 hours, 44 of which have been contained at an early stage, Vathrakoyiannis said.
On Monday evening, authorities were still battling eight fires.
The fires broke out a day after firefighters managed to contain two large forest fires near Athens, which were fanned by strong winds.
“We have had an exceptionally difficult June in terms of weather conditions, with severe drought and unusually strong winds for this season,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told a cabinet meeting on Monday.
STAMATA — A firefighter and volunteers try to extinguish a forest fire, June 30
STAMATA — Firefighters battle flames 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 over a military camp during a forest fire
KERATEA — People try to extinguish a forest fire with a branch
KERATEA — A firefighter works to extinguish a burning forest fire
KERATEA — Black plumes of smoke rise into the sky, June 30
KERATEA — A firefighter watches as smoke rises as flames engulf a tree
KERATEA — Fire helicopters dump gallons of water to fight the fire
STAMATA — A firefighter watches as they try to extinguish the flames
KERATEA — A destroyed house is seen amidst a burned area
He said this summer will be “particularly dangerous” because of forest fires.
Mitsotakis said the use of drones as part of an early warning system for forest fires had been particularly useful this year, and he praised better coordination between authorities and volunteer firefighters for limiting the extent of fire damage so far.
“We are entering the hard core of the firefighting period and we certainly cannot reach that without the help of the public, especially in the area of prevention,” Mitsotakis said.
Hot, dry weather combined with strong winds helped fuel fires in both Greece and Turkey last month. This summer is expected to be particularly prone to fires after a particularly mild, dry winter. Last year, more than 20 people were killed in widespread forest fires in Greece.
Are you in the Greek Islands? Email matt.strudwick@mailonline.co.uk