More than 570 firefighters are battling the blaze in Greece island Evia. The natural disaster has have burned uncontrollably on the island for six days, Reuters reports.
Evia authorities have reported on rescue operations for the population of an island. Almost all local people have boarded a rescue ferry at the village of Psaropouli. Thousands of people have fled their homes on the Greek island of Evia as wildfires burned uncontrolled for a sixth day on Sunday.
The local ferries were on standby for more evacuations after taking many to safety by sea. The governor for central Greece said the situation in the north of the island had been “very difficult” for nearly a week.
Since Tuesday, the fires are threatening the northern suburbs of a capital city, Athens, but the blaze on Evia is still the largest. An island situated on the east of the capital, quickly burgeoned into several fronts, ripping through thousands of hectares of pristine forest across its northern part. The scale of the natural disaster made the local authorities forcing the evacuation of dozens of villages.
On Evia, residents are losing their homes. The villages are destroyed, there is nothing left from the homes or properties.
Greece faced the wost-ever heatwave
A weeklong heatwave caused the scaled wildfires, with searing temperatures and hot winds creating tinderbox conditions. Over six days, forest land has burned and dozens of homes and businesses have been destroyed.
Greece has deployed the army to help battle the fires and several countries including France, Egypt, Switzerland and Spain have also sent help including firefighting aircraft.
The coastguard has evacuated more than 2,000 people, including many elderly residents, from different parts of the island since Tuesday, in dramatic sea rescues as the night sky turned red from the flames. More than 2,500 people have been accommodated in hotels and other shelters, the governor said.
On Friday night, strong winds pushed the fire into the town of Thrakomakedones, where residents had been ordered to evacuate. The blaze left burnt and blackened houses and cars among scorched pine trees.
