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Wildfire on Lesvos forces hundreds to flee resort – Top Stories News – Report by AFR

Hundreds of tourists and residents were evacuated from a popular resort on the Greek island of Lesvos on Saturday when wildfire destroyed homes in the beach village of Vatera.

The fires sent up thick plumes of smoke that snuffed out the sun as they drifted across the sea, while flames raged meters from homes, forcing people to flee while others tried to shelter their homes from the embers.

Greece faced the first day of a heatwave on Saturday that is expected to last 10 days. Temperatures were expected to soar to 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions, sparking concerns of more wildfires.

The fire on the island of Lesvos broke out at 10:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Saturday and is blazing on two fronts, towards the village of Vrisa and another within Vatera.

Police said 450 people had been evacuated from two hotels and 92 houses in Vatera.

The Greek Coast Guard earlier said it had evacuated nine people, including five foreigners, from a beach in Vatera.

The fire brigade used nine firefighting aircraft and a helicopter to fight the escalating fire.

West Lesbos Mayor Taxiarchis Verros ordered the evacuation of the busy beach resort as a precautionary measure and acted on the advice of firefighters, the Athens News Agency reported.

At least two homes were devastated by the fire, state television ERT said.

On Saturday, firefighters also spent a third day battling a wildfire raging in Dadia National Park, the country’s largest Natura 2000 site, known for its black vulture colony in the northeastern Evros region.

Fire department spokesman Yiannis Artopoios said on Saturday afternoon that the fire in Vatera was “extraordinarily difficult”, but that there was a “significantly improved” situation in the north-east.

About 320 firefighters and 68 fire engines, together with a large number of volunteers, have been fighting the fires in Evros.

However, their efforts were hampered by the thick smoke and lack of wind and high humidity at night, making fighting the fire from the air difficult.

Wildfire in the mountains near Athens on Wednesday damaged homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate after gale force winds earlier this week.

The country’s worst wildfire disaster struck in the coastal suburb of Mati in 2018, killing 102 people just a few kilometers from the area hit by Wednesday’s blaze.

A memorial service was held in the coastal city on Saturday to commemorate the victims.

A heat wave and wildfires devastated 103,000 hectares (255,000 acres) in Greece last year and claimed three lives.

Fires in parts of France, Spain and Portugal have already burned more land this year than in all of 2021 – some 517,881 hectares (5,000 km2), or the equivalent area of ​​Trinidad and Tobago.

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