Is it safe to travel to Crete? Location of Greece wildfires as island put on ‘extreme risk’ alert

Crete has been put on red alert for wildfires as blazes continue to sweep across the Greek islands.

Greece’s Civil Protection authorities issued an emergency “extreme fire risk” warning on the island on Tuesday (25 July), putting it in the highest risk category along with Rhodes.

Firefighters have been battling blazes in Rhodes for the past week following a scorching heatwave across southern Europe, which saw temperatures climb above 40C in some areas.

Thousands of British holidaymakers have been rescued from the fire-ravaged island, with repatriation flights landing in the UK overnight and on Tuesday. Evacuation orders were also issued on the islands of Corfu and Evia where a military plane crashed on Tuesday as it helped to tackle the blazes.

The air force water-dropping plane crashed while diving into a wildfire, killing both pilots, aged 34 and 27. The plane had no ejection system. The crash was aired in a state television broadcast that showed the low-flying aircraft disappearing into a canyon before a fireball was seen moments later.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cancelled a planned visit to Cyprus for Wednesday (26 July), and three days of mourning were called for Greece’s armed forces.

The wildfires have sparked concerns among holidaymakers with trips planned to Greece over the summer holidays, with some holiday operators cancelling flights and holidays.

Is it safe to travel to Crete?

At the moment there are no reports of widespread fires in Crete, although the island has been put on high alert, with people warned there is an “extreme risk” of fire. The warning puts the island in the same fire alert level as Rhodes, which has been battling blazes for the past week.

There is currently no official travel guidance which advises against travelling to Crete, nor to Rhodes and Corfu where wildfires have broken out. The UK Foreign Office is not formally advising people not to travel to Greece, but recommends that holidaymakers due to travel to a part of the country that might be affected by wildfires to contact their travel operator, or accommodation provider, before travelling to check it is not currently impacted.

It also recommends that anyone going to Greece has “appropriate insurance”, adding that it should “ cover your itinerary, planned activities and expenses in an emergency”. In an update on Tuesday, the government body said: “Be cautious if you are in or near an area affected by wildfires. You should:

• follow the guidance of the emergency services
• call the Greek Emergency Services on 112 if you are in immediate danger
• contact your airline or travel operator who can assist you with return travel to the UK.
• enable the “Emergency Alerts” option to receive the Greek government’s emergency alerts:
• for iPhones go to Settings > Notification. Enable the “Emergency Alerts” option at the bottom.
• for Android 11 and higher go to Settings > Notifications > Advanced Settings > Wireless Emergency Alerts
• for Samsung Devices go to Settings > Apps > Messages > Notifications > Emergency Notifications. Enable the “Emergency Alerts” option
• read the Greek Government’s protection guidelines in the event of a forest fire.
• register via the Greek government’s Emergency Communication Service (in Greek)

“The Greek government has set up a Crisis Management Unit to facilitate the evacuation of foreign visitors from Rhodes due to the ongoing forest fires. Contact them for advice on:

• +30 210 368 1730
• +30 210 368 1259
• +30 210 368 1350

“If you are a British national and need consular assistance, call our 24-hour helpline on +44 20 7008 5000.”

Where are the wildfires in Greece?

Firefighters have said there are currently 63 fires around Greece, most of which are concentrated on the island of Rhodes. The blazes are predominantly located around the centre of the island, close to the village of Larema, as well as along the eastern and south eastern coast near the resort town of Kiotari. Wildfires have also been reported in the village of Genadi to the south, and Kalahos, Masari and Malonas to the north.

In Corfu, wildfires are affecting the north of the island forcing 2,000 people to be evacuated before Tuesday. People were evacuated from Nissaki Beach after a fire grew close on Sunday evening (23 July) and an evacuation warning was extended on Monday, with orders in place in 17 new areas such as Santa, Porta and Tristi.

Wildfires have also been reported on the mainland, with fires spreading outside Athens and on the island of Evia to the east. In Athens, authorities resumed afternoon closing hours at the ancient Acropolis as part of broader measures to cope with the high heat.

Vassilis Kikilias, the minister for climate crisis and civil protection, said: “For the 12th day, under extreme conditions of heat and strong winds, we are fighting non-stop on dozens of forest fire fronts… The Greek Fire Service has battled more than 500 fires — more than 50 a day.”