Popular Greek seaside resort evacuated as wildfires spread
Flames engulf a house as a wildfire burns in Saronida, near Athens, Greece, July 17, 2023.
Reuters/Stelios Misinas
The seaside resort of Loutraki, located 50 miles west of Athens, has been evacuated due to wildfires spreading close by, as a searing heatwave grips southern Europe.
Another wildfire has torn through the settlement of Kouvaras, 30 miles southeast of the Greek capital, where several homes have been damaged.
It comes after temperatures in Greece had rocketed to 40C, with the Acropolis in Athens shutting during the hottest hours of Friday and Saturday to protect visitors.
In Loutraki, two villages have been evacuated, as well as a children’s summer camp and a rehabilitation centre.
Fire and smoke spread on the hills at the Corinth Canal, Greece, July 17, 2023.
Iymane Rhimi/via Reuters
As strong winds exacerbate the spread of the fire, 59 firemen with 19 engines and seven aircraft have been deployed to contain the blaze.
Ioannis Artopoios, a Greek Fire Service spokesperson, told a televised briefing: “Due to high winds, the blaze spread across 12 kilometres in two hours.”
He added: “It’s a difficult day with several fires (burning) across the country.”
Artopoios also confirmed that a person suspected of arson had been detained.
Flames approach a house as a wildfire burns in Saronida, near Athens, Greece, July 17, 2023.
Reuters/Stelios Misinas
Though the heat has relented slightly, the Greek meteorological service has warned that a second heatwave is on the way later on in the week.
One of Britain’s best-loved countries to visit, almost 4.5 million Britons were registered at Greek entry points last year, according to the country’s central bank.
The UK pipped Germany to top spot of the visitor league tables in Greece for the first time in decades.
Greece’s former tourism minister, Vassilis Kikilias, said: “In terms of Greece, the Brits are leading the way. And they’re big spenders.”
HEATWAVE LATEST:
Fire and smoke spread on the hills at the Corinth Canal, Greece, July 17, 2023.
Iymane Rhimi/via Reuters
Temperatures across the Mediterranean are nearing the highest ever recorded in Europe, with travellers being warned that local medical and health services are strained in some areas.
Where the hottest temperature recorded in Europe is believed to be 48.8C in Sicily in August 2021, forecasts in Sardinia are tipping the mercury to rise to 46C or higher.
Italian authorities have issued red alerts in 16 cities, after a 44-year-old man lost consciousness while painting a zebra crossing in the northern town of Lodi, later passing away in hospital.
As southern Spain also braces for temperatures up to 46C, wildfires have also broken out in the Canary Islands.
A person stands on the terrace of a house as smoke rises from a wildfire burning in Saronida, near Athens, Greece, July 17, 2023.
Reuters/Stelios Misina
Thousands of residents and tourists including Brits have been evacuated from the Canaries as a forest fire continues to burn out of control on the Spanish island of La Palma.
Officials say 4,255 people have so far been evacuated and 4,500 hectares (11,100 acres) of land has been consumed by the wildfire.
Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canary Islands, said there is some "resistance to abandoning the houses," but emphasised that the priority was saving lives.
On the reasoning for the wildfire’s rapid spread, Clavijo pointed to “the wind, the climate conditions as well as the heatwave that we are living through."