Fires in Greece remain out of control with constant evacuations on the islands of Rhodes, Euboea and Corfu

Greece and its islands continue to burn uncontrollably. Thousands of firefighters work to extinguish the 63 fires declared throughout the country, which have forced the evacuation of more than 20,000 people on the islands of Rhodes -the hardest hit for more than a week-, Corfu and Euboea.

The fires come amid a heat wave that is suffocating the country with temperatures reaching 46.4 degrees in some areas, the highest temperature ever recorded in the country.. The extreme heat is expected to continue until Thursday, when a significant drop in temperature of between 5 and 7 degrees is expected, the National Weather Service reported Monday.

Evacuations on the rise in Rhodes

The worst is concentrated on the island of Rhodes, where dramatic scenes take place daily, with the largest evacuation due to fire in the country's history: some 30,000 people, including more than 15,000 tourists.. The Greek Emergency Corps warns of a new evacuation in Kalathos, the seventh town on the island that has been vacated due to the advance of the fire.

The town of Malonas has also been evacuated, with hundreds of volunteers and troops working to prevent the flames from reaching those evacuated towns. “We are in a war with fires,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in Parliament on Monday, stressing that in the face of nature's “fury” “no measure will be enough.”

Local media report that the conditions in which the battle is being fought are extremely difficult, with hurricane-force winds blowing in the area, and that firefighting planes and helicopters continue to engage in the extinguishing battle, even after sunset.

According to images released by the Greek media, many tourists are stranded at the island's airport. Those affected who are not there remain housed in sports halls, municipal structures and hotel convention centers.

The fire has so far burned more than 14,000 hectares of virgin forest, as well as several houses and some hotels, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).. The Greek government announces that since Sunday 1,489 people have been able to leave Rhodes on flights to the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy.

EasyJet repatriates British tourists

The low-cost airline EasyJet has indicated that it will begin to repatriate British tourists this Monday, with the shipment of transport planes. According to the British government, in Rhodes there are between 7,000 and 10,000 tourists from that country at the moment, although not all of them are in the area affected by the fires.

The Czech government, which speaks of “several thousand” tourists from that Central European country on the island, is also preparing to send two large transport planes in case of need to evacuate its compatriots.

Meanwhile, the German travel agency TUI announced on Monday that it will send six empty charter flights to the island to repatriate British and Germans, local media reports.

The Euboea fire leaves a missing person

On the island of Euboea, northeast of Athens, another fire is out of control around the coastal town of Karistos and one person, a herdsman, is missing.. The flames forced the evacuation of nine towns and reached the town of Platanistós and Potami, where several houses have been burned, according to regional authorities.

So far, nine towns have been evacuated, while the fire is difficult to contain, since strong winds blow in the area. “We hope to have a calm in the winds so that we can, with the ground forces, limit the extent of the disaster”, underlines the regional governor. Greek media ensure that the fronts of this forest fire are already close to 10 kilometers.

Neighbors, against the flames in Corfu

On the other hand, the situation on the island of Corfu (northwest), which had improved significantly during the morning of this Monday, suffered new revivals since the afternoon, with 18 towns evacuated and at least 2,500 people affected.

Among the evacuees were 2,000 tourists, who on Monday were able to return to the hotels where they are staying on the northeast coast of Corfu.. There, some 60 firefighters, with 21 vehicles, 2 helicopters and 2 tanker planes are fighting to contain the fire, after the evacuation of 18 towns.

Despite the evictions, the fire in Corfu has not yet damaged residential areas. According to the Greek daily Kathimerini, together with firefighters, civil protection men from the municipality of North Corfu, residents and volunteers are fighting the flames.

Another hundred troops also fight against a fourth fire on the Peloponnese peninsula, near the town of Agios, which forced the evacuation of several nearby towns yesterday and interrupted traffic on local roads.