Greece fires – live: Blaze triggers massive explosions at air force ammunition depot
A wildfire has triggered a series of massive explosions at an air force ammunition depot in central Greece.
The depot was evacuated before the explosions, which shattered windows in the surrounding area.
No injuries were reported, although continued blasts prevented firefighting teams from approaching the site.
Greek state broadcaster ERT said the facility is in the coastal town of Nea Aghialos near the Volos area.
The fire reached the ammunition storage facility about four miles north of the major military air base in Nea Anchialos. Local media reported that bombs and ammunition for Greek F-16 fighters were stored at the site
The fighter jets are reportedly being moved from the air base.
Fire Service spokesman Ioannis Artopios said 12 villages were ordered to be evacuated in the Volos-Nea Anchialos area.
He said the blaze was the most dangerous of the 124 wildfires the fire service had to deal with on Thursday.
Deadly wildfires on Greece’s mainland have killed two as wildfires spread in Europe and north Africa including Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Italy, France, Croatia, Spain, Algeria and Tunisia.
Key Points
Fire risk remains ‘extreme’ for several areas of Greece today, fire brigade warns
Mainland Greece hit by fresh wildfires overnight
‘It was like an apocalypse’: Palermo journalist recalls overnight blaze
UK advises people visiting Greece to carry ‘appropriate insurance’
UK Met Office warns temperature higher than 40C will be frequent in future
Wildfire triggers massive explosions at air force ammunition depot
Wildfire triggers massive explosions at air force ammunition depot
20:37 , Martha Mchardy
A wildfire has triggered a series of massive explosions at an air force ammunition depot in central Greece.
The depot was evacuated before the explosions, which shattered windows in the surrounding area.
No injuries were reported, although continued blasts prevented firefighting teams from approaching the site.
Greek state broadcaster ERT said the facility is in the coastal town of Nea Aghialos near the Volos area.
The fire reached the ammunition storage facility about four miles north of the major military air base in Nea Anchialos. Local media reported that bombs and ammunition for Greek F-16 fighters were stored at the site
The fighter jets are reportedly being moved from the air base.
Fire Service spokesman Ioannis Artopios said 12 villages were ordered to be evacuated in the Volos-Nea Anchialos area.
“Despite their superhuman efforts, our forces were unable to stop the blaze,” he said.
He said the blaze was the most dangerous of the 124 wildfires the fire service had to deal with on Thursday.
The wildfire burned on three fronts and forced a section of Greece’s busiest highway to close for several hours while national rail services passing through the area were delayed.
State ERT television showed residents and visitors in the coastal village of Anchialos, close to the blast site, being evacuated by sea while others were leaving in cars and buses.
The mayor of the city of Volos, Achilleas Beos, appealed to all remaining village residents to obey the evacuation order, saying some 80% had left. The coastguard said dozens of residents were taken in small private boats to the city of Volos.
The Nea Anchialos air base is 12 miles from the city, where the blasts were heard loudly. The air force said that while the facility was not immediately threatened, some of the F-16 fighters based there were taking off for other air bases as a precaution.
Watch: Good samaritan gives water to thirsty lizard after devastating wildfire in Turkey leaves forest in ashes
20:30 , Martha Mchardy
Toursist face ‘uncertainty’ as holidays cancelled
20:00 , Martha Mchardy
Colin Spicer, 42, who had planned to travel to Rhodes with his wife and their two daughters, aged 11 and 15, said their hotel, the Rodos Princess Beach, had announced all reservations would be cancelled until the end of August.
He added that easyJet Holidays has not said if it will cancel or amend the package holiday.
Mr Spicer said easyJet has “not been very helpful at all given they’ve got quite a substantial amount of our money” for the family’s holiday, booked from August 22.
Addressing the company, he said: “Your hotelier is saying it’s not going to open, so you’ve got no option but to give that money back because you can’t fulfil the holiday to what we’ve booked.”
He said his family are hesitant to book another summer holiday while they wait for clarity from easyJet Holidays due to the “uncertainty” of whether they will be refunded.
The firm told PA: “EasyJet Holidays has cancelled package holidays to impacted resorts in the south of Rhodes departing up to and including 29 July and has proactively contacted impacted customers who are due to travel, and processed full refunds.
“We are also contacting customers due to travel to a small number of resorts that remain impacted in Rhodes up to 10 August to discuss their options.
“EasyJet continues to operate its flying schedule to Rhodes, however, we understand that some customers travelling to the affected area may want to change their plans.
“Customers who are booked to travel to or from Rhodes until 29 July can transfer for free to another date or can request a flight voucher for the value of their unused flights, by calling easyJet Customer Services.”
Britons face ‘absolute nightmare’ trying to get refunds for Rhodes holidays
19:30 , Martha Mchardy
British tourists are struggling to get refunds for holidays to Rhodes after the island was hit by wildfires, with one woman describing her situation as an “absolute nightmare”.
Anita Madhas, 49, was scheduled to travel to Rhodes in early August with her 72-year-old mother in a group of around 20 friends and family, but they no longer wish to go to the island after their hotel, the Lindos Imperial, was partially damaged by fire.
Ms Madhas paid just over £1,000 for return flights for herself and her mother for August 3 to 13, which have not been cancelled.
She said: “That flight is scheduled to go out to Rhodes and I won’t get a refund. I only get a refund if that flight is cancelled.
“It’s just an absolute nightmare at the moment. I’m trying to get everybody to get some kind of transfer or refund, so that we can all rebook and go somewhere else.
“Even if we decided to change the hotel to a different destination on the island, there’s still no 100% guarantee that the hotel is going to be safe and our holiday is going to be what we expected it to be.”
Ryanair press office told the PA news agency: “Ryanair flights to/from Rhodes are currently operating as scheduled and remain unaffected by the forest fires.
“All passengers travelling from Tuesday 25 to Sunday 30 July inclusive to/from Rhodes can change their flight free of charge online via the website/app.”
Dangerous US heat wave pushes eastward, capping globe's record July
19:00 , Martha Mchardy
An intensifying heat wave descended on the eastern United States on Thursday, prompting warnings about the dangers presented by the sweltering heat and humidity in the final days of a record-smashing July around the world.
Some 180 million Americans - about half the population of the United States - are under heat watches and warnings, with temperatures and heat index values well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) in the forecast until at least Saturday, the National Weather Service said.
Officials in New York City, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and other big cities urged people to avoid working or playing outside, to drink plenty of fluids and to check on loved ones and neighbors.
“The next four days will be extremely hot - take care of yourself and the people around you,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said on X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. The nation’s capital was expected to see the heat index, a measure of what the temperature feels like to the human body, reach 107 degrees F (41.7 C).
In Philadelphia, officials declared a health heat emergency until Saturday and created a phone help line for the elderly, opened cooling centers and increased homeless outreach.
Cooling centers have also been opened across New York City for those who do not have access to air conditioning. The heat index could reach 103 degrees F (39.4 C) on Friday in the most populous U.S. city.
“Heat is deadly, and climate change is making extreme heat more frequent and even more dangerous, especially for vulnerable New Yorkers,” New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said in a statement.
One in four Britons think climate change is out of control, according to survey
18:30 , Martha Mchardy
One in four people in the UK think the climate crisis is out of control, a new survey has revealed.
An Ipsos poll revealed two-thirds think we are already feeling the effects of climate change, while more than half think there is still time to deal with it.
Six out of 10 people polled also think the Conservative government is doing a bad job at dealing with the crisis, but less than three in 10 think Labour do a better job.
Watch: Ice covers road in Germany as extreme weather hits country
18:00 , Martha Mchardy
Rhodes holiday maker: Tui rep urged my family to ignore evacuation order
17:37 , Martha Mchardy
A father forced to flee a hotel with his family to escape the fire on Rhodes has said a Tui rep urged his family to ignore an evacuation order.
Ian Noble, 41, claimed the company “valued money over the safety of their guests” by urging them to ignore initial evacuation orders.
Mr Noble, an IT professional from Chesham, Buckinghamshire, was staying at the Atlantica Dreams hotel with his wife, Rebecca, and their four-year-old daughter, Genevieve.
He was among the guests who received an alert from the Greek authorities on their mobile phones at 11am on Saturday ordering them to leave the area as the fire was spreading towards them.
Mr Noble said Tui reps and hotel management convinced them it was safer to remain where they were.
But at around 9pm that night there was “banging on the hotel room door and we were told ‘you need to run, go now’,” he told the PA news agency.
A Tui rep told them coaches would collect them from the resort’s main gates, but the hotel manager started “screaming” at them to begin walking towards a beach.
He claimed Tui “knew what was happening” in terms of the need to evacuate but convinced guests to remain at the hotel for several hours because the company thought “we still need to make some money” and “they valued money over the safety of their guests”.
A Tui spokeswoman said: “We understand how distressing and difficult it’s been for those who had to leave their hotels and curtail their holidays due to the wildfires in Rhodes.
“Our teams have worked round the clock to offer support and we brought in many additional reps to help assist as soon as the situation escalated.
“They’ve done their utmost in challenging and difficult situations, collaborating with the local authorities who managed the immediate evacuation.
“We relocated impacted customers in new hotels as soon as we could and have brought hundreds of people home.
“Many more travelled back to the UK on flights yesterday and today and our teams will be in touch with everyone who impacted on their return.”
In pictures: Wildfires wreak havoc across Rhodes
17:00 , Martha Mchardy
Explosion heard at an ammunition facility during wildfire in central Greece - state broadcaster
16:23 , Martha Mchardy
Explosions were heard at an ammunition facility in the coastal town of Nea Aghialos in central Greece during a wildfire in the area on Thursday, state broadcaster ERT reported.
Citing unnamed sources, ERT said the ammunition depot belonged to the Greek air force.
World set to overshoot Paris warming target, says UN climate agency boss
16:21 , Martha Mchardy
The incoming head of the UN climate science agency said on Thursday the world would exceed the Paris deal warming target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, adding that states’ policies had not been ambitious enough.
In an interview a day after being voted the next head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Britain’s Jim Skea said the organisation was “committed” to “at least a little bit of overshoot” of the long-term threshold from the 2015 Paris deal.
“They (governments) have not put in place policies that are ambitious enough to allow the goals of the Paris agreement to be met. That is absolutely for sure,” he said via video link from Nairobi where he won a run-off against Brazil’s Thelma Krug.
“We are, I think, committed to at least some degree of overshoot...,” he said.
Ending fossil fuels for some sectors, like aviation and freight, was not realistic, he said, adding that this meant CO2 would need to be removed from the atmosphere in future.
Red Cross in force in Rhodes as fires ease
15:50 , Martha Mchardy
The Red Cross has been operating in Rhodes since the fires began 10 days ago.
There are now 50 to 60 Red Cross staff operating across the island, a medic stationed at Gennadi told The Independent.
Initially, those comprised solely medics from Rhodes, who have been joined by others from Athens, Katerini, Kos and Patras.
While today had been calmer, Evangelos Efthymiou said that the team in Gennadi had treated people mostly only for light burns and other minor injuries.
Greek wildfires reach outskirts of Athens
15:20 , Martha Mchardy
Wildfires have reached the outskirts of Athens as strong gusts of wind cause flare-ups around Greece, disrupting motorway traffic and rail services.
Water-dropping helicopters and a ground crew were called early on Thursday to a blaze in Kifissia, just north of Athens, which was quickly put out.
Near the central city of Volos, a wildfire burned on two fronts, forcing a section of Greece’s busiest motorway to shut for several hours, while national rail services passing through the area were delayed.
Firefighters also battled flames on Rhodes for a 10th successive day, while flare-ups were reported on the island of Evia.
UN chief warns ‘era of global boiling’ has arrived
15:02 , Martha Mchardy
U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that the era of global warming has ended and “the era of global boiling has arrived” after scientists said July was the world’s hottest month on record.
“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning,” Guterres told reporters. “It is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and avoid the very worst of climate change. But only with dramatic, immediate climate action.”
July is the hottest month on record - and likely in 120,000 years: ‘A foretaste of the future’
14:51 , Martha Mchardy
The warning lights have been on for weeks but now it is official: July 2023 is set to be the hottest month on record - and likely in 120,000 years.
The record-breaking average global mean temperature - the overall reading if you could stick a thermometer at every location on Earth - was confirmed by scientists including at the European Copernicus Climate Change Service and World Meteorological Organization on Thursday, based on analysis of international climate and weather datasets.
“We are in absolutely new record territory,” Dr Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist at Leipzig University whose separate analysis was first to confirm the new record, told a press briefing on Wednesday.
Senior Climate Correspondent Louise Boyle reports:
July is the hottest month on record - and likely in 120,000 years
Wildfires in Portugal: Is it safe to travel to Lisbon and Cascais right now?
14:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
As wildfires rage across Sicily and Greece, Portugal is the latest Mediterranean country to be hit.
A fire broke out on 26 July near the popular coastal holiday spot of Cascais, just 30km west of capital city Lisbon.
The blaze started at 5pm in part of the Sintra-Cascais natural park, with strong winds fanning the flames and quickening the spread.
Local residents chipped in to help the hundreds of Portuguese firefighters sent to tackle the fires, with some attempting to protect their homes and villages with buckets of water and hosepipes.
“The fear now is that it will get to the houses,” local resident Ines Figueiredo told Reuters.
Is it safe to travel to Portugal right now?
Very high risk of fire for several regions in Greece on Friday
13:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
According to the Fire Risk Prediction Map issued by the General Secretariat of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Climate Crisis & Civil Protection ( civilprotection . gov . gr ), for tomorrow Friday, July 28, 2023 , a very high risk of fire (risk category 4) is predicted for the following areas :
Region of Attica
Region of Central Greece (PE Boeotia, PE Evia, PE Fthiotida)
Peloponnese Region (Corinthia Region, Argolis Region)
South Aegean Region (Kos, Kalymnos, Rhodes, Karpathos)
North Aegean Region (Lesvos Region, Chios Region, Samos Region, Ikaria Region)
Region of Crete (Heraklion PE, Lasithi PE)
‘It’s my house, I have to protect it,’ says resident in Rhodes town threatened by wildfires
13:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A resident in a hillside village in Rhodes threatened by wildfires in recent days has spoken of her relief that the blazes appeared to have been tamed, but fears tense days and difficult months may still lie ahead.
Eirini Kousoulini, who has run a restaurant in Malonas for five years, warned that tense moments still lie ahead as the volunteer firefighters who have toiled to quell the blazes in the hills above the village for nine nights must remain vigilant for any embers to reignite.
While the village was advised to evacuate in the small hours of Sunday, Irene remained at her house, which is located close to where the fires burned on the hillside.
“Its my house, I have to protect it,” said Eireni, who has lived in Rhodes for 25 years, and is originally from the island of Astypalaia, also in the Dodecanese.
“Everybody, everybody” is worried about the impact of the fires on tourism, she said. “All people in Rhodes work with tourists, everything is a chain. They work for six months and in the winter they don’t have work.”
The winter will be hard “for sure”, she added. “Because everything is very expensive – life, the supermarkets, electricity, everything … I have to work 18 hours here every day.”
Fires in Volos, Greece
12:57 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
In Volos, Greece, the labour ministry urged employers in the area to suspend operations on Thursday. Drone footage above Volos showed the fire leaving behind a trail of destruction with charred trees and land covered in grey ash.
The fire in Kymi on the island of Evia, where two pilots were killed on Tuesday when their plane crashed into a hillside as it was dropping water onto the flames, was brought under control. Rekindlings in the north of Corfu island and near the town of Lamia, south of Volos, were tamed.
On Rhodes, where more than 20,000 foreign visitors and locals fled seaside hotels and homes over the weekend, teams were trying to put out a blaze in a hard-to-reach mountainous area on Thursday.
Drone images show swathes of scorched forest land from a mountain down to the coast.
Large areas of the Mediterranean have sweltered under an intense summer heatwave in recent days, and firefighters have been battling to put out blazes across the region, from Portugal to Sicily to Algeria.
Greece PM says climate change 'not an excuse' as wildfires burn
12:33 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday said Greece needed to take more steps to combat the effects of climate change as wildfires on the mainland burned farms and factories overnight and left farmers rushing to evacuate their animals.
The fire brigade said more than 500 wildfires have burned across the country so far this year. While summer fires are common in Greece, scientists say higher temperatures and dryer weather are turning it into a Mediterranean hotspot for climate change.
Mitsotakis said Greece needed to reform its fire fighting and fire prevention policies and do more to alleviate the impact of climate change.
“The climate crisis may be a reality, but it cannot be an excuse,” he said during a meeting with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
“Our country ought to take more steps... to be ready to mitigate, as much as possible, the effects of a reality that we are already starting to feel, and that could have dramatic effects on many different aspects of our economic and social life,” he said.
Maps show the extent of wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and Portugal
12:16 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Wildfires have ravaged at least nine countries in Europe and North Africa this week, forcing mass evacuations as firefighters battle on in tinderbox conditions.
Extreme heat and billowing winds have created the “perfect storm” for fires to rip through swathes of land in Greece, France, Portugal, Spain, Gran Canaria, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Algeria and Tunisia.
In Rhodes, one of the worst affected Greek islands, more than 20,000 tourists and locals fled from the blaze in “the biggest evacuation” in Greece’s history.
The Greek Fire Brigade has been battling more than 500 fires for almost two weeks, but the service said the risk of fire remained “extreme” for several areas of Greece on Thursday.
Here we look at where the fires have struck this week:
Maps show the extent of wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and Portugal
In pictures: Nature scorched and charred in Corfu
11:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Pictures show the natural world scorched after fires ravaged the Greek island of Corfu this week.
Fire risk remains ‘extreme’ for several areas of Greece today, fire brigade warns
11:17 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The risk of fire remained “extreme” for several areas of Greece on Thursday, the fire brigade said.
Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Greece was experiencing “very dangerous summer days.”
The fires, he said, were fanned by strong winds and worsened by abnormally high temperatures, kindling fronts stretching for several kilometres.
“Given the climate crisis, we will again have extreme weather conditions that will again test our strength. Nothing is over, the battle will continue throughout the summer,” he said.
‘It was like an apocalypse’: Palermo journalist recalls overnight blaze
11:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A journalist from BlogSicilia said scenes of the overnight blaze in Palermo were like an “apocalypse scene”.
Italian firefighters said they battled nearly 1,400 fires between Sunday and Tuesday, including 650 in Sicily and 390 in Calabria, the southern mainland region where a bedridden 98-year-old man was killed as fire consumed his home.
Fires were still burning on the hills around Palermo on Wednesday, with Canadair planes back in operation to try to douse the flames.
Speaking to Sky News, Piero Messina said: “The landscape from Palermo from the night of the fire seems to be really an apocalypse scene. It seems to be not real.”
Though Mr Messina acknowledged climate change played a crucial role in the devastating wildfires, he said an inquiry has been opened by the prosecutor office in Palermo to investigate whether criminal elements are involved.
“Every year in Sicily, we have to fight against arson fires and this time it could be really a nightmare,” he said.
Mainland Greece hit by fresh wildfires overnight
10:49 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Wildfires ripped through mainland Greece late on Wednesday, leaving a wake of death and destruction.
Officials ordered the evacuation of several communities in the hard-hit area of Magnesia, a coastal area north of Athens.
The body of a 45-year old shepherd was found in a rural area on Wednesday evening, the fire brigade said. Earlier, authorities had found the body of a woman, state TV ERT said. Both deaths were attributed to the fires.
In Sesklo, a village near the coastal port city of Volos, the regional capital, the charred remains of a cow could be seen on a farm as locals coached away other cattle.
“It started from the grass on various fronts in the area and we got to this situation from the lack of public authority, of regional governors, mayors, to burn half of Magnesia,” farmer Kostas Koukouvinos said.
Late on Wednesday flames threatened the industrial zone of the city of Volos. Firefighters circled the area as they tried to protect it, a Reuters witness said.
The labour ministry urged employers in the area to suspend operations on Thursday.
A separate wildfire flared near the city of Lamia, south of Volos. Residents of several settlements were told to leave their homes.
Are flights still going to Rhodes and can I get a refund? TUI explains
10:41 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Here are the main updates:
“Scheduled return flights from Rhodes to the UK – will continue to operate as planned.
“Up to and including Friday 28th July – no outbound flights will operate to Rhodes - all flight-only customers due to travel on these flights will receive full refunds, and package holiday customers will have the option to amend their booking or cancel with a full refund. Refunds will be processed within 14 days of the booking being cancelled.
“Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July – our holiday programme to the North of Rhodes, where hotels and resorts are fully operational, will resume. Any customers who would prefer to amend to another available holiday can do so or they can cancel with a full refund.
“Up to and including Friday 11th August – Whilst a number of hotels in the South of the island are open, TUI is offering customers travelling on a package holiday to a hotel in the south of the island the option to rebook or amend their holiday, or cancel with a full refund.
“Our teams will be contacting these customers to discuss their preferred options, including anyone who’s booked on a non-TUI flight.”
Rhodes wildfires could be controlled by weekend, fire official says
10:13 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The wildfires burning in Rhodes for a 10th day could be largely quelled in the next two days, a fire service official on the island has said.
While strong winds have caused repeated flare-ups in recent days, the official told The Independent: “The view today is quite [a bit] better … If the wind doesn’t get stronger tomorrow, the last day could be today or tomorrow.”
“But it is still burning in a lot of places in the south,” they said, adding that some 210 firefighters were currently battling persistent blazes near the mountain villages of Vati and Profilia, and behind the seaside town of Gennadi.
Along with four firefighting airplanes and four helicopters, there are also 45 fire vehicles from Rhodes and Athens currently out in force, and over 100 cars from volunteer civilians on the island, the official said.
Update from TUI
09:43 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A TUI UK&I spokesperson said: “Our teams in Rhodes have been working tirelessly to support customers impacted by the wildfires in south-eastern parts of the island. We’ve brought hundreds of people home and hundreds more will be travelling back to the UK on flights today.
“We appreciate how distressing and difficult it’s been for those who had to evacuate their hotels and curtail their holidays. And we also understand those due to travel to Rhodes may be concerned about how their holidays could be affected.
“We’re continuing to monitor the situation and have made some changes to our holiday programme in the coming days. We’d like to reassure customers their health and safety is our top priority and re-iterate that we are constantly reviewing the situation and will provide any new updates as soon as we are able.”
Firefighters battle Greece wildfires overnight as farms and factories burn
09:13 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Firefighters in Greece battled flames burning for the 10th day on the island of Rhodes, while new blazes erupted on the mainland that destroyed farms and factories overnight and left farmers rushing to evacuate their animals.
The blazes across the country, which have been supercharged by strong winds and temperatures exceeding 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), killed a further two people in central Greece on Wednesday, taking the death toll from the fires to five.
Officials ordered the evacuation of several communities in the hard-hit area of Magnesia, a coastal area north of Athens.
Wildfire on Spain's Gran Canaria island 'stabilised' - emergency services
08:43 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Firefighters have “stabilised” a wildfire that ravaged 400 hectares of woodland in the centre of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, local emergency services chief Federico Grillo said on Thursday.
Authorities declared the wildfire stable at 0.42 a.m. local time (2342 GMT) after it had forced the evacuation of hundreds of villagers from their homes as well as dozens of children from a camping site near a mountain top.
Three roads were closed off while emergency services deployed nine aircraft and 250 firefighters to contain the blaze.
“Unfortunately, a house has burned down on Pico de las Nieves,” Grillo said on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. No injuries were reported.
Since Wednesday, authorities had allowed residents to return to their homes to check for possible damage and care for their pets, accompanied by security officers.
Earlier in July, 4,000 people were evacuated from their homes on the island of La Palma, near Gran Canaria, as a forest fire burned out of control while countries across Europe have struggled to cope with wildfires amidst a heatwave.
Tourist beach left in charred ruins on Rhodes
08:21 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
My colleague, Andy Gregory, reporting from Rhodes:
Just last week, Glistra Beach played host to tourists no doubt enchanted by its rugged charm and surrounding shrub land.
But visited by The Independent as the sun set on the ninth day of wildfires that have torn through parts of Rhodes, nearly all evidence of human activity on Glistra had been reduced to charcoal and scorched metal.
The burnt wreck of a bar commanded the view over the small bay, with crumpled wrought iron forming a twisted and stunted structure littered with debris.
While just a few miles to the north, tourists lounged on untouched Lindos beach, the smoke from fires still raging near Gennadi to the south lay thick in the air, with the smoke casting a heavy red haze as the sun went down on firefighters and civilians doing their best to quell the persistent flames.
In pictures: Fire rages near city of Volos in central Greece
08:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A wildfire raged near the city of Volos in central Greece on Wednesday as firefighters battled to tackle the blaze.
Fire flare-ups in Rhodes as state of emergency declared
07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Firefighters and civilians battling the nine-day wildfires ravaging Rhodes are contending with continuous flare-ups fuelled by unpredictable winds, as temperatures neared a scorching 40C.
Greece’s civil protection agency extended the state of emergency across the entirety of Rhodes on Wednesday, which will remain in place for six months, “to deal with emergencies and manage the consequences of catastrophic forestry fire”.
In the town of Malonas, which was evacuated on Saturday, The Independent watched on alongside exhausted volunteers as a section of the charred forest nearby reignited.
Andy Gregory reports from Rhodes.
Winds fuel fire flare-ups in Rhodes as state of emergency declared across island
Are Greece wildfires caused by climate change?
07:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Wildfires have raged across Greece for days, triggering large-scale evacuations, rescue flights for British tourists and warnings from officials that things may yet get worse.
While the cause of the blazes has not officially been identified, local authorities have suggested at least some could have been the work of arsonists.
But climate science and fire risk specialists say it’s undeniable that rising temperatures and prolonged heatwaves mean the fires in the Mediterranean country have spread faster and burned over larger areas.
Maanya Sachdeva has more.
Are Greece wildfires caused by climate change?
Civilians tackle persistent blazes in hills of Rhodes for ninth night
06:32 , Andy Gregory in Rhodes
Volunteer firefighters were out in the hills of Rhodes again late on Wednesday for the ninth night running, as they sought to dampen persistent blazes.
One volunteer in the hills above the inland village of Malonas spoken to by The Independent at around 10:30pm local time said they were waiting “on lookout” for flare-ups, with the tanks of water on their vehicles still full – in a positive sign the fires there were finally subsiding.
Others were some 25 kilometres further south in Vati, a village nestled between olive groves and pine trees, in an area where firefighting efforts had been most intense on Wednesday.
Local outlet Rodiaki reported that there were three fronts constantly rekindling near Vati and Gennadi – but, as in Malonas, were hoped to ease significantly overnight.
Where are the Italy wildfires as temperatures rise to 47.6C in Sicily?
06:05 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Travel on and off the Italian island of Sicily has been disrupted after wildfires fuelled by extreme temperatures broke out.
Videos and photos show the fires ravaging the island holiday destination, including two of the main airports at Catania and Palermo.
Flames also threatened the ancient archaeological site of Segesta, which had to be closed temporarily to check for any damage.
The Messina area of Sicily has also seen wildfires breakout, with photos showing flames engulfing part of the village of Curcuraci.
Temperatures rose to 47.6C in some parts of the island on Monday, sparking at least 55 separate blazes.
Lucy Skoulding reports.
Where are the Italy wildfires as temperatures rise to 47.6C?
Two killed as wildfire erupts on Greek mainland
05:40 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Wildfires that have been supercharged by strong winds and temperatures exceeding 40C killed two people in central Greece yesterday, forcing a new wave of evacuations.
At least 61 wildfires erupted across Greece in the last 24 hours, the fire brigade said. Officials ordered the evacuation of several communities in the hard-hit area of Magnesia, a coastal area north of Athens.
The body of a 45-year-old shepherd was found in a rural area last evening, the fire brigade said. Earlier, authorities had found the body of a woman, state TV ERT said.
Both deaths were attributed to the fires.
When will heatwave in Europe end?
05:12 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Southern European countries suffering from a sizzling heatwave for weeks can finally hope for some respite as a new forecast reveals “subtle changes in the jet stream” that are expected to bring temperatures down.
With shattered temperature records, devastating wildfires in Greece and tragic loss of lives, people have been anxiously awaiting relief from intense heat conditions that gripped Europe this month.
The latest forecast from the UK’s Met Office offers a glimmer of hope as conditions are projected to shift slightly, indicating the weakening of the heat dome that enveloped the southern part of the continent.
Stuti Mishra reports.
When will heatwave in Europe end? New forecast shows relief in sight
The nine affected countries mapped
04:40 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Wildfires continue to burn across at least nine countries in Europe and North Africa, forcing mass evacuations as firefighters battle on in tinderbox conditions.
Greece, France, Portugal, Spain, Gran Canaria, Italy, Croatia, and Turkey have seen raging fires this week as extreme heat billows over the countries.
The Greek Fire Brigade has already been battling more than 500 fires for almost two weeks, while the high temperatures of the recent new heatwave are set to exceed 44C in some areas of Greece.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain has more.
Where are the wildfires? The nine affected European countries mapped
UK Met Office warns temperature higher than 40C will be frequent in future
04:21 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
In its annual State of the UK Climate report, the Met Office analysed the weather of 2022 and warned temperatures higher than 40C, summer droughts, grassfires and downpours will increase in both frequency and severity.
A severe heatwave gripped the country last summer, as a new temperature record was set (40.3C) and numerous wildfires were reported across Britain. More than 3,000 heat-related deaths were recorded in England and Wales during five “heat periods” between June and August 2022, according to a joint report by the Office of National Statistics and the UK Health Security Agency.
While 2022 was an “extraordinary” year for the UK in terms of weather and climate, the Met Office said these conditions “are a potential warning of what we should expect in the future” as a result of human-caused climate change.
Maanya Sachdeva has more.
UK’s 40C summer of 2022 ‘will seem cool’ as climate crisis worsens, Met Office warns
We refuse to cancel, say tourists flying into Greek inferno
04:00 , Jane Dalton
British tourists on an easyJet flight to Rhodes have said they refuse to let wildfires ruin their holiday – despite thousands of others heading back home from “holiday hell”. Andy Gregory reports:
Tourists flying into Greece inferno reveal why they refuse to cancel holiday
Wildfires and climate change: the link
03:00 , Jane Dalton
Local authorities in Greece have suggested at least some of the wildfires could have been the work of arsonists.
But climate science and fire-risk specialists say it’s undeniable that rising temperatures and prolonged heatwaves mean the fires in the Mediterranean country have spread faster and burned over larger areas:
Are Greece wildfires caused by climate change?
Tourist recalls how Greeks saved her family
02:00 , Jane Dalton
A tourist broke down in tears as she detailed how she and her family managed to escape the Rhodes wildfires with the help of locals.
“It was so awful, it was like Dante’s Inferno,” LBC caller Jane, from Preston, explained.
Tourist breaks down detailing how Greek locals saved her family from wildfires
Italy announces support for businesses hit by heatwave
Thursday 27 July 2023 00:56 , Jane Dalton
Italy has announced measures to help families and businesses hit by extreme climate events, as the country reels from a heatwave in the south and fierce storms in the north.
Giorgia Meloni’s administration approved a decree to help construction and agricultural firms keep staff at home in areas with very high temperatures.
The decree allows building and farming companies, both severely hit by the heatwave because their workers cannot work from home, to use the instrument without the hours being counted in the overall limits.
“The measure will be valid for this year,” labour minister Marina Calderone said.
The heatwave over most of the south took a particularly heavy toll on the island of Sicily, which was devastated by wildfires that killed three people.
Catania, below Mount Etna in eastern Sicily, has been hit by power and water supply cuts that officials blamed in part on the heat.
More than 40 people killed as wildfires rage in nine countries
Wednesday 26 July 2023 23:51 , Jane Dalton
More than 40 people have been killed in wildfires that have engulfed swaths of land in nine Mediterranean countries, destroying homes and livelihoods and threatening forests, amid one of the world’s fiercest heatwaves:
More than 40 people die as wildfires rage in nine countries in record heatwave
Greek fires release record greenhouse gases
Wednesday 26 July 2023 22:44 , Jane Dalton
Greek wildfires released a record 1 megaton of carbon emissions between 1 and 25 July, the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) says.
That was nearly double the previous record, set in July 2007.
Carbon emissions accelerate the climate crisis, which scientists say has intensified the heatwaves.
Tourist beach left in charred ruins
Wednesday 26 July 2023 21:36 , Jane Dalton
Just last week, Glistra Beach played host to tourists no doubt enchanted by its rugged charm and surrounding shrub land, writes Andy Gregory.
But visited by The Independent as the sun set on the ninth day of wildfires that have torn through parts of Rhodes, nearly all evidence of human activity on Glistra had been reduced to charcoal and scorched metal.
The burnt wreck of a bar commanded the view over the small bay, with crumpled wrought iron forming a twisted and stunted structure littered with debris.
While just a few miles to the north, tourists lounged on untouched Lindos beach, the smoke from fires still raging near Gennadi to the south lay thick in the air, casting a heavy red haze as the sun went down on firefighters and civilians doing their best to quell the persistent flames.
Greece tries to salvage tourism
Wednesday 26 July 2023 20:36 , Jane Dalton
The Greek government has sought to contain damage to the reputation of one of its crucial revenue earners, tourism.
Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni stressed that wildfires had affected only a small part of the island.
“We have contacted the chamber of hoteliers and we want to see how we can bring people with holiday vouchers back,” she told Open television.
Greece is heavily reliant on its sea and sun tourist trade and Rhodes, one of its largest Aegean islands, is among its top destinations, attracting about 1.5 million foreign visitors in the summer months.
Around 3,000 holidaymakers had left Rhodes to return home by plane by Tuesday, while tour operators cancelled upcoming trips. TUI dropped flights to Rhodes until Friday.
Winds fuel fires in Rhodes as state of emergency declared
Wednesday 26 July 2023 20:00 , Jane Dalton
Firefighters and civilians in Rhodes are contending with continuous flare-ups fuelled by unpredictable winds, as temperatures neared a scorching 40C, writes Andy Gregory on the island:
Winds fuel fire flare-ups in Rhodes as state of emergency declared across island
Lizard laps up water from good Samaritan after Turkish wildfires
Wednesday 26 July 2023 19:25 , Jane Dalton
Watch: This is the heartwarming moment a good Samaritan gives water to a thirsty after the devastating wildfires left a Turkish forest in ashes.
Good Samaritan gives water to thirsty lizard after devastating Turkey wildfire
Transport help for people returning from Greek holidays
Wednesday 26 July 2023 18:50 , Jane Dalton
TransPennine Express, the intercity operator for the north of England and southern Scotland, has joined National Express in offering free travel to customers returning home from Greek wildfires.
“Customers should present their stamped passport and airline boarding pass confirming travel from the islands as proof of returning from the disruption,” the company says.
The company is also offering refunds on pre-purchased rail fares to passengers who have booked travel to Greece and have had their flights cancelled or no longer wish to travel.
When will heatwave in Europe end?
Wednesday 26 July 2023 18:14 , Jane Dalton
Southern European countries suffering under a sizzling heatwave for weeks can finally hope for some respite as a new forecast reveals “subtle changes in the jet stream” that are expected to bring temperatures down:
When will heatwave in Europe end? New forecast shows relief in sight
Fleeing holidaymakers all back in UK, says travel firm
Wednesday 26 July 2023 17:45 , Jane Dalton
Travel firm Thomas Cook says all its customers that had to flee their hotels at the weekend have now returned to the UK.
It said: “As normal tourism resumes across most of the island, we are also conscious that some of our customers do have some concerns about continuing with their original holiday plans. We are extending our offer to amend or refund customers who are due to depart up to and including Friday 28th July. We expect to reach a decision for the coming days in the next 24 hours.”
Why no Foreign Office warnings against travel?
Wednesday 26 July 2023 17:15 , Jane Dalton
In his daily travel podcast, The Independent’s travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles the increasing calls for the Foreign Office to warn against travel to Rhodes because of the wildfires.
When the FCDO make such an assessment, holiday companies are required to repatriate their customers and not to send any more travellers out.
Calder says: “The Foreign Office lost the plot and trashed the reputation of its travel advice during the Covid pandemic – when Portugal was classed as having the same degree of risk as the Afghan capital, Kabul, and parts of Somalia.
“After such misjudgments, it is not surprising that some holidaymakers who are now reluctant to travel see the prospect of a FCDO ‘no-go’ decision as a kind of get-out-of-jail-free card.
“But such a rating should be reserved for real high-risk locations. Rhodes continues to be a good holiday destination, and now the bargain destination of the summer.”
Hundreds of hectares of forest burned in Gran Canaria
Wednesday 26 July 2023 16:55 , Jane Dalton
A forest fire in El Cortijo de las Huertas, in Tejeda, Gran Canaria, Spain, burned some 300 hectares.
EU plans to buy firefighting planes
Wednesday 26 July 2023 16:18 , Jane Dalton
The European Union wants to sign contracts this year for up to 12 firefighting planes, the first it would fully own, to improve its ability to fight blazes fuelled by climate change, the bloc’s head of crisis management said.
The EU doubled its existing reserve fleet of firefighting aircraft in the past year, after devastating fires last summer in southern Europe exhausted its previous 13-craft capacity.
That fleet comprises 28 aircraft, which the EU pays to lease from EU countries’ own fleets or the market, to form a bloc-wide buffer during the wildfire season. That doubling of numbers is expected to cost 23 million euros, the commission said.
But as climate change increases the risk of severe blazes, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said Brussels wanted contracts signed this year to buy 12 EU-owned craft, plus another 12 to bolster countries’ own national fleets.
“We could have the first planes delivered two years later. And the whole fleet would be there by the end of the decade,” Mr Lenarcic told Reuters.
Manufacturer De Havilland Canada has agreed to re-launch production of the so-called “Canadair” aircraft, if the EU orders are placed, he said.
Six member states would sign the contracts: Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The EU would finance the purchase of the 12 planes for its own fleet, while member states would pay for their own.
We have neither energy nor power, say volunteer firefighters
Wednesday 26 July 2023 16:00 , Jane Dalton
Volunteer firefighters battling blazes night after night for nine days on Rhodes have spoken of their exhaustion as fires continued to flare up, writes Andy Gregory on the island.
In the town of Malonas, which was evacuated on Saturday, The Independent watched on alongside exhausted volunteers as a section of the charred forest nearby reignited.
The handful of volunteers gathered outside St George’s Church stood up to watch as a firefighting plane flew overhead, dousing the flames in water – as smoke continued to rise skywards.
They expected to venture out again alongside hundreds, if not thousands, of other civilians on Wednesday night to do what they could to keep the fires at bay – having fought back the flames just the night before, as they encroached on the sleepy inland town.
“We have no energy, we have no power – not enough to stop this ... We are waiting for the wind to calm down to try again tonight to finish the job, but it is very difficult because after 10 days everyone is very tired,” a volunteer named Panos said, adding: “I’m going to sleep now for one hour.”
Greek blazes ‘less severe’
Wednesday 26 July 2023 15:45 , Jane Dalton
Wildfires raging across Greece for more than a week had abated, a fire brigade official said earlier.
Firefighters are still battling on several fronts to contain blazes that have killed three people and caused thousands of tourists to flee.
On the island of Rhodes, where more than 20,000 foreign visitors and locals fled hotels and homes over the weekend, dozens of firefighters are still trying to tame a front close to a mountainous area in the south.
“Wildfires across Greece have abated, but firefighters are still operating at different spots,” an official told Reuters.
On Rhodes, “the fire is more intense close to the village of Vati, which is hard to reach, but no settlements are at risk,” another fire official said.
The Greek government has sought to contain damage to the reputation of one of its key revenue earners.
Fire threatens to engulf moving cars
Wednesday 26 July 2023 15:25 , Jane Dalton
Flames threatened to engulf cars travelling along a main road in Sicily, terrifying drivers and passengers, as this video footage shows:
Rhodes blazes have started again – fire official
Wednesday 26 July 2023 15:00 , Jane Dalton
Firefighters have been mobilised to the Rhodes village of Apollona, while fires also burned further south in Vati and Gennadi, writes reporter Andy Gregory, who is on the island.
“The fires have started again,” a fire service official told The Independent. “A little wind and the fire returns … That’s the problem.”
Speaking to The Independent in the town of Malonas, as the skies remained clear shortly before a fresh plume of smoke was spotted a short distance away, one resident described a “pattern” of flare-ups in recent days.
Miles, a 56-year-old artist from England who has lived on Rhodes for 17 years, said: “Clear in the morning. By the afternoon, the sky’s gone dark ... there’s smoke everywhere, and you can see it for miles.
“That’s why the helicopters are flying over now, they’re damping down near the edges to try and make sure it doesn’t come back,” he added.
State of emergency extended across all of Rhodes
Wednesday 26 July 2023 14:55 , Jane Dalton
Greece’s civil protection agency has extended its state of emergency to cover the entire island of Rhodes.
The measure will last for six months “to deal with emergencies and manage the consequences of catastrophic forestry fire”, civil protection minister Vasilis Papageorgiou said, according to local media.
Tragic ‘last words’ of firefighting pilots
Wednesday 26 July 2023 14:48 , Jane Dalton
The tragic last words of two heroic pilots who died fighting wildfires in Greece have been revealed:
Tragic 'last words' of hero pilots who died in plane crash fighting Greek wildfires
Tunisia and Algeria fires ‘contained’
Wednesday 26 July 2023 14:28 , Jane Dalton
Tunisian firefighters have completely contained fires that broke out in various regions, with the help of the Algerian army and firefighting planes from Spain, the Tunisian interior minister says.
Wildfires that swept across regions of Algeria, leaving at least 34 people, including 10 soldiers, dead, spread to Tunisian regions including forests.
Earlier on Wednesday, Algeria managed to contain the bush fire that had been raging in its forests, state TV said.
The fires in Tunisia forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes.
Temperatures of 49C were recorded in some cities in Tunisia this week.
Two elderly found dead in burnt home
Wednesday 26 July 2023 14:19 , Jane Dalton
The bodies of two elderly people were found in a home that had been consumed by flames near Palermo airport, on the island of Sicily, which had been closed temporarily because of the encroaching flames, according to Italian news reports.
Firefighters are battling dozens of wildfires across southern Italy as searing temperatures continue to scorch Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria, where a number of evacuations were ordered.
Freak storms in the north of the countries also left two people dead on Tuesday from falling trees.
Greece crisis in pictures: Infernos, black skies and fleeing tourists
Wednesday 26 July 2023 14:03 , Jane Dalton
Severe fires in parts of Greece and in other Mediterranean countries have spread, causing excess deaths, destroying homes and threatening nature reserves during a third wave of extreme temperatures. These are some of the most powerful images:
Infernos, black skies and fleeing tourists: The Greece wildfires in pictures
Melting power cables ‘bring Sicily to its knees'
Wednesday 26 July 2023 13:57 , Jane Dalton
A mayor in Sicily said his city had been “brought to its knees” by temperatures approaching 50C (more than 120F), which had melted underground cables.
Hundreds of thousands of people on Sicily have been left without power or running water as the heatwave hit utilities, as well as airports and public transport.
“Most of our existing infrastructure was designed based on temperature averages 60 to 80 years ago,” an expert in engineering and critical infrastructure told The Wall Street Journal, “but these aren’t the conditions we are facing today.” Repair bills could be high.
Holidays to Rhodes on sale at halfprice
Wednesday 26 July 2023 13:46 , Jane Dalton
Exclusive: A week’s package holiday to Rhodes is being offered for sale for around half the normal summer levels on the wildfire-hit Greek island, writes Simon Calder:
Summer holidays to fire-hit Rhodes on sale for just £295
Fire in Portuguese holiday destination ‘under control'
Wednesday 26 July 2023 13:06 , Holly Evans
A wildfire that began on Tuesday afternoon in the popular Portuguese holiday destination of Cascais, near the capital of Lisbon, is now under control but firefighters will remain on the ground.
Civil protection commander Elisio Oliveira said the blaze no longer posed a risk to the population but urged people to avoid the area.
More than 600 firefighters and water-bombing planes battled the blaze, which was complicated by strong winds.
Around 90 people were evacuated as a precaution, but no houses were damaged and no major injuries have been reported.
Croatian firefighters endure ‘long night’ to contain fires
Wednesday 26 July 2023 12:48 , Holly Evans
Firefighters in near Dubrovnik worked overnight to ensure that a burning wildfire was contained, amid concerns it would reach houses.
Several kilometers away from the famous walled town of Dubrovnik, in the country’s south along the Adriatic Sea coast, water-dropping planes and more than 100 firefighters battled the blaze.
The medieval stone city is a protected heritage site and Croatia’s best-known tourism destination.
“It’s been a long night but we managed to stave off the part (of the fire) that is important because of the houses,” firefighting unit commander Stjepan Simovic said. “We must be careful because the wind has started to pick up and the fire can grow again.”
UK ambassador to visit Rhodes
Wednesday 26 July 2023 12:33 , Holly Evans
The UK’s ambassador to Greece is due to visit Rhodes today as firefighters continue to battle wildfires that have caused thousands to be evacuated.
Ambassador Matthew Lodge will meet with Greek officials including the deputy prime minister Ioannis Bratakos, Rhodes mayor Andonis Cambourakis and south Aegean governor Giorgos Hatzimarkos.
Sky News reports that Mr Lodge is due to discuss “the current status of the wildfires” and the “progress in relocating Brits to hotels or returning to the UK”.
Nine countries burn across Europe and North Africa
Wednesday 26 July 2023 12:25 , Jane Dalton
Wildfires are burning in at least nine countries across southern Europe and North Africa, with thousands of firefighters working to contain the blazes.
At least seven people have been killed in Italy as it battled both extreme heat and violent storms. In the north, Milan residents reported torrential rain and hail with a 16-year-old girl killed after a tree fell on her tent. Meanwhile in the south, the heatwave reached 47.6C with three people found dead in Sicily.
In Greece, authorities have evacuated more than 20,000 from homes and resorts in Rhodes, while 2,500 have been evacuated in Corfu. Two pilots died when their plane crashed into the hillside in Evia, while the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the country was “at war” with fire.
Nearly 100 firefighters have worked to contain a wildfire close to Nice airport in France, while 300 firefighters battled fires near the city of Arles.
Local media reported that winds were so strong in Croatia that firefighting aircraft could not take off, while wildfires have been reported in the south of the country.
Fires in Spain continue to pose a problem following two weeks of extreme hear, with a blaze in Gran Canaria reaching just metres from an air traffic antannae and prompting the evacuation of hundreds.
Wind has also caused issues in Portugal as firefighters tackle a large blaze near the tourist hotspot of Cascais, with water-bombing planes used to reduce the spread.
Meanwhile in North Africa, at least 34 people have been killed in Algeria, with fires burning in a total of 15 provinces and 1,500 people evacuated from their homes. Among those killed were 10 soldiers who became trapped by flames.
Strong winds have resulted in fires spreading to neighbouring Tunisia, with two border crossings closed in an attempt to contain the blaze.
Locals fear Rhodes fires storing up problems in months to come
Wednesday 26 July 2023 11:45 , Andy Gregory in Rhodes
The fires ravaging Rhodes are also storing up problems for locals in the months ahead, residents fear.
Speaking to The Independent in the town of Arhangelo, a local doctor in his 50s named Renos warned that the first large rainfall could bring a deluge of debris to the affected villages.
Even once the fires have been tamed in Rhodes, volunteers will need to work for at least a week to ensure the embers of the decimated forests do not reignite, he said.
Praising the strength of the civilians toiling at the fire front through the night after working in hotels and other jobs during the day, he said: “I think they deserve an Olympic gold medal.”
Former Greek defence minister calls for help from Russia to fight fires
Wednesday 26 July 2023 11:30 , Tara Cobham
A former Greek defence minister has urged the Greek government to seek help from Russia to fight the devastating wildfires.
Panos Kamennos claims it is impossible to cope with the fires without the support of the Russian Be-200 amphibious aircraft.
“Without Beriev, nothing happens. Let’s bow out heads and ask for help now. We will be given...” he said in a social media post.
Laura Sharman reports:
Former Greek defence minister calls for help from Russia to fight fires
Popular tourist site remains closed
Wednesday 26 July 2023 11:22 , Holly Evans
Temperatures in Greece have resulted in one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations closing for the afternoon, in a bid to protect visitors from the extreme heatwave.
With the heat expected to exceed 45C today, the Greek government said the Acropolis in Athens would be shut from 11am.
The historical landmark was forced to close last week as the stifling heat raised concerns around safety, with one woman attended to by paramedics after feeling faint.
Wildfires continue to rage across the country, with a blaze in Rhodes prompting the “biggest evacuation” in Greek history as 20,000 people were forced to leave their homes and hotels.
‘You feel like the fire is a beast’
Wednesday 26 July 2023 11:15 , Andy Gregory in Rhodes
The area surrounding the villages of Gennadi and Vati have become hotspots for the fires ravaging Rhodes in recent days.
Speaking to The Independent in the town of Arhangelo, where hundreds of young volunteers have travelled from to fight the fires, a 41-year-old software designer named Stefanos Pardalos described his trip to the fire front.
“I went at 11 o’clock at night, I helped a little bit, but you can’t do anything. You feel like [the fire is] a beast, honestly. It’s the first time in my life I’ve seen something [like that].
“Imagine airplanes can’t do [much],” he said, comparing this to the difficulty facing volunteers on the ground, some of whom he said were loading pickups with water systems from their houses to combat the fires.
Temperatures approach peak in Rhodes as firefighting efforts continue
Wednesday 26 July 2023 11:00 , Andy Gregory in Rhodes
Temperatures in Rhodes are approaching their forecast peak of 40C, intensifying conditions for those working to quell the fires here.
Hundreds of civilians have been travelling to the fire front in recent days, using any means at their disposal to halt the blazes which have prompted thousands of people to be evacuated from homes and hotels.
Those efforts continued on Wednesday in the scorching heat, as volunteers at a hub visited by The Independent near Faliraki bussed in and out to pick up supplies to take to those toiling in the south.
As well as the heat, already at 36C, the winds which have fanned the flames in unpredictable ways in recent days were set to intensify throughout the day here, with gusts reaching 25mph, according to the Met Office.
Watch: Tourist breaks down detailing how Greek locals saved her family
Wednesday 26 July 2023 10:45 , Tara Cobham
Travel industry ‘lost confidence’ in Foreign Office advice, says Paul Charles
Wednesday 26 July 2023 10:37 , Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent
A leading travel industry voice has called for a “complete overhaul” in Foreign Office consular advice.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency and former Virgin Atlantic director, told The Independent: “It needs a complete overhaul as Foreign Office advice has always been seen as the arbiter and signal for the industry.
"But the industry has lost confidence in it since Covid and it failed to move swiftly in the green/wildfire crisis. Either it needs to be relaunched, after industry consultation, or abandoned and the onus put firmly on tour operators, airlines and travel agents, following a new Code for Overseas Travel.”
