Greece flies more firefighters to battle a blaze on Crete, and orders new evacuations

Greek authorities flew additional forces Thursday to the southern island of Crete, where 250 firefighters battled a wildfire that forced the evacuation of eight villages in mountainous areas.

The blaze tore through olive groves, farmland and scrub, damaging irrigation networks, but posed no immediate threat to the busy holiday resorts along the island’s coast.

The fire service said 40 members of a specialist unit from Athens joined the operation in the island’s central Rethymno area late Thursday, boosting the ground forces to nearly 300. A first team was sent in on Wednesday.

No injuries or severe damage to homes have been reported so far. Strong winds hampered firefighting efforts on the ground, assisted by a large fleet of 13 waterbombing aircraft and eight helicopters. Although the aircraft stopped flying after nightfall, firefighters were hoping to take advantage of an overnight lull in the wind to bring the blaze under control.

More than 2,000 wildfires have erupted all over Greece this summer, which authorities have warned carries the highest fire risk in the past two decades amid unusually high temperatures linked to climate change. But most have been tamed before they could cause extensive devastation or deaths, as has been the case during previous summers.

The Rethymno fire started on Wednesday and was initially contained after a nightlong lull in high winds, but the flames intensified after daybreak.

Greece has experienced a mild, dry winter followed by a dry, hot spring, which left vegetation across the country tinder-dry, enabling flames to spread fast.

To address the threat, the government invested in more firefighting assets, including water-dropping aircraft and early warning drones.

The fire service said Thursday afternoon that a total 35 wildfires broke out across the country over the past 24 hours.

Source: AP