More than 2,500 people were evacuated as a precaution overnight in Corfu, Greece, where a fire is raging in the north of this highly touristic island, a firefighters spokesman told Fance-Presse on Monday, July 24.
A forest fire in the north of the island caused “preventive evacuation of 2466 people” overnight from Sunday to Monday, Yiannis Artopios said, stressing that no houses or hotels had been destroyed so far. Authorities have sent a message to mobile phones to residents and vacationers in many small towns in the north, urging them to leave. “as a precaution of their residence”according to Mr. Artopios.
Authorities evacuated about 2,500 people from the Greek island of Corfu on Monday as crews battled multiple wildfires in heat-stricken Greece. ยป
One of the longest heatwaves in decades
The fire broke out on Sunday and continues to burn in the forest in the north of this island in the Ionian Sea (NW), where they operate on Monday. “62 firefighters supported by two helicopters and two water bombers”according to the fire department.
Hit by one of the longest heatwaves in decades, with temperatures reaching over 46C on Sunday, Greece has been plagued by wildfires since last week.
A massive fire on the also touristic island of Rhodes in the southeastern Aegean led to the evacuation of 30,000 tourists on Saturday. “greatest operation (of such a type) never performed in Greece”, according to authorities. At dawn on Monday, two helicopters and two water bombers resumed their operation in support of firefighters on this Dodecanese island, engulfed in flames for the seventh day in a row.
Rhodes and Corfu are the most popular destinations in Greece for tourists, especially British and Germans.