ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek firefighters continued to battle a blaze on the island of Kos for the second day on Tuesday, as hundreds of tourists and locals returned to their hotels and homes after being forced to evacuate overnight.
When the fire reached the coastal village of Kardamaina overnight, residents took shelter in a sports centre and other locations, Christos Efstratiou, deputy governor of the Dodecanese islands, told Reuters.
The fire subsided on Tuesday morning, allowing residents to return to their homes, and no buildings were damaged, Christos Efstratiou added.
Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country, but they are more devastating as summers have become hotter and drier, a phenomenon scientists attribute to climate change.
More than 100 firefighters, assisted by a helicopter, were still battling the blaze on the island of Kos to prevent it from getting any worse, firefighters said.
On the neighbouring island of Chios, more than 170 firefighters, supported by 36 vehicles and 10 aircraft, were trying to control another blaze that broke out on Monday afternoon.
“The situation seems to have improved on both fronts,” a fire official said, referring to the two fires.
Rescue teams, assisted by Canadairs, also battled a forest fire on the island of Crete on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned this week of an increased danger of wildfires this summer, citing a prolonged drought and unseasonably strong winds.
Last year, wildfires killed more than 20 people in the north of the country and forced 19,000 people to flee the island of Rhodes.
(Written by Angeliki Koutantou and Renee Maltezou; French version Pauline Foret, edited by Kate Entringer)
