Wildfires in Greece: Full list of regions with high fire risk warning - as blazes spread and tourists evacuated
Firefighters are battling wildfires in Greece as tourists and locals have been evacuated from blazes that are raging.
Officials ordered the evacuations of dozens of villages amid an intense drought and strong winds that have helped the spread of the fire. Large fires have been raging in Zante, Kefalonia and Chios.
The Hellenic Fire Service said dozens of firefighters have been battling a blaze in the Athera region in Kefalonia. A post shared to its X/Twitter page said: "Fire in an agroforestry area in the Athera region, #Kefalonia . 32 #firefighters were mobilized with 2 groups of hikers of the 16th #EMODE , volunteers, 8 vehicles and 2 helicopters. Assistance from local water authorities."
The mayor of western Achaia said fires in the region were "out of control." Grigoris Alexopoulos yesterday said some coastal areas were "irreparably damaged."
Greek authoroties warned conditions could become more challenging in the coming days. Several homes have been destroyed in Agalas village in Zakynthos.
Three separate fires have been seen burning near Koiliomeno, Keri and Lithakia, according to reports. Greek authorities have issued high fire risks in the regions listed below.
- Attica
- Western Greece
- Epirus
- Thessaly
- Peloponnese
- Central Greece
- Ionian islands
- Eastern Macedonia
- Thrace
- Central Macedonia
- North Aegean
Firefighters have reportedly battled some 106 fires across the country. Sixty-three of those are understood to have been reported on Tuesday.
The largest fire erupted in Western Achaia near Flogeraika early yesterday morning (Tuesday 12 August), prompting gradual evacuations of all local settlements.