An idyllic island in Greece continues to burn after wildfires swept across its landscape — prompting a state of emergency to be declared over the weekend. The situation has seen over 400 firefighters deployed on the island of Chios in an attempt to control the blaze, which has resulted in many residents being evacuated from their homes for safety.
Three forest fires broke out on Sunday in the areas of Kofinas, Agia Anna and Agios Makarios according to early accounts. The BBC reported that a fourth blaze erupted shortly after midnight in Agios Markos, followed by a fifth front on Monday morning in Agiasmata.
The situation has not been helped by temperatures on the island which saw highs of over 30C over the last few days. Pictures from the island have shown locals fighting the flames alongside firefighters to minimise the damage in residential areas. Residents have been seen throwing buckets of water and using clothing to blot out smaller spot fires.
Greek media reported extensive damage to several residential properties and at least one distillery with people saying they have been unable to return to their houses to inspect the destruction. Over 15 villages have now been evacuated according to local media sources.
The mayor of Chios, Yiannis Malafis, earlier told Kathimerini that due to several different fire fronts — each located at a considerable distance from the others — the conditions had been difficult to manage for firefighting units.
He said: “The situation is very difficult, and the winds are extremely strong. Helicopters are operating but under challenging conditions.”
He added that evacuated residents were transported to the island’s town hall.
Greek politician Ioannis Kefalogiannis travelled to the island and said he was “troubled and concerned” about the outbreak of multiple fires in different parts of the region “without a clear explanation” — as per the BBC.
“This is something that must be investigated thoroughly,” he said.
It was revealed that a team from the fire service’s Arson Investigation Unit has been deployed to work alongside local police officers to launch an investigation to find out what caused the fires. Authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the fires were deliberately lit. Outages in the wider Vrontados area have been reported after a fire damaged the local power grid. Teams from the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network (HEDNO) were sent from the neighbouring island of Lesvos to repair the damage.
Some planned power cuts were introduced to support firefighting operations after water supply issues were found to be impacting efforts.
The Chios outbreaks mark the first major wildfire this summer for Greece, which has a history of devastating fires and extreme heat. In 2012, a wildfire destroyed more than half of the island’s iconic mastic which is a tree resin mainly used in cooking and pharmaceuticals. This resulted in the global supply chain of the so-called “tears of Chios” industry.