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Three firefighters have died in wildfires across Greece, including two who were trapped inside a vehicle on Crete, as flames pushed through the island's southern Rethymno region and forced around 8,000 residents and holidaymakers to move to safety.
Fire crews continued working through the night on July 31 as strong winds drove the main blaze across a front stretching about 15 kilometers. Homes, farms and livestock were damaged while emergency teams struggled to reach villages and coastal resorts in the Agios Vasileios municipality.
The main fire zone was concentrated along Crete's southern coast, affecting areas including Krya Vrysi, Melambes, Sachtouria, Agios Pavlos, Triopetra, Agia Paraskevi, Orne and Ligres.
The two firefighters who died on Crete were found inside their vehicle in the Nea Krya Vrysi area after they were apparently cut off by the flames. One was a seasonal firefighter, while the other had served for five years at the Agia Fotini fire station.
"Today is an extremely difficult day for the Fire Department," the agency said while passing on its condolences to the victims' families and colleagues.
A third firefighter died in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. He was found unconscious outside the wildfire perimeter near Ageranos in the Gythio area and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Around 51 people were brought out of the southern Crete fire zone after attempting to escape by sea. Authorities said the evacuation was made particularly difficult by gale-force winds measured at force 8 on the Beaufort scale, a system commonly used to describe wind strength at sea.
More than 200 firefighters, backed up by dozens of fire engines, were deployed along the southern coast. However, changing wind conditions and turbulence forced water-dropping aircraft and heavy helicopters to suspend some operations.
Gusts of up to 102 kilometers per hour were reported as flames moved rapidly through dry vegetation, pine forests and olive groves. Nearby Agia Galini was evacuated as a precaution, although conditions later settled enough for some visitors to return.
Crete's main airports in Heraklion and Chania remained open and continued operating normally. Popular destinations along the northern side of the island, including Rethymno Old Town, Chania, Heraklion, Elounda and Agios Nikolaos, were also reported to be unaffected.
Travelers staying close to the southern fire zone were advised to check the exact location of their accommodation, contact hotels or package providers and follow messages sent through Greece's 112 emergency alert system.
Specialist investigators from the Greek Fire Service opened inquiries into the ignition points of the Rethymno fires, although no cause had been established.
Temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius had dried out vegetation across the island, while powerful gusts helped smaller fires spread quickly. Authorities warned that discarded cigarettes, outdoor barbecues, glass and other forms of human carelessness could set off major fires under such conditions, but investigations remained ongoing.
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Firefighters were also battling a separate wildfire on Paros in the Cyclades, where civil protection authorities sent out new 112 alerts for several villages as the blaze continued to burn.
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