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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Wildfires are tearing through a popular tourist hotspot in Greece,
forcing mass evacuations
By Laura Paddison, Chris Liakos, CNN
Updated:
9:37 AM EDT, Thu July 3, 2025
Source: CNN
More than 200 firefighters are struggling to tackle an out-of-control
wildfire on Crete — Greece’s largest island and a tourist hotspot
— as authorities order mass evacuations.
The fire broke out Wednesday afternoon near Ierapetra, a town on the
island’s southeast coast, amid unusually high temperatures, 3 to 5
degrees Celsius (5.4 to 9 Fahrenheit) above average, and gale-force
winds of around 50 miles an hour.
The conditions are creating “new outbreaks, making firefighting work
very difficult,” the Fire Department’s press spokesperson, Chief
Vasilios Vathrakoyannis, said in a Thursday.
More than 230 firefighters, along with 46 vehicles and 10 helicopters
have been deployed to fight the blaze, according to fire officials.
The flames have spread rapidly, reaching homes as well as hotels and
other tourist accommodations.
Authorities asked residents of to evacuate and move toward Ierapetra.
About 1,500 people have been evacuated so far, according to the Greek
public broadcaster ERT.
The Ierapetra municipality has converted an indoor training center
facility into a makeshift camp, where hundreds of tourists and
residents who abandoned their homes spent the night Wednesday.
The police, medical services and the coast guard have all been called
to the area.
“We are entering the third and most difficult month of the fire
season,” Vathrakoyannis said. July is typically the hottest month in
Greece and is often accompanied by strong winds. “These conditions
favor the spread of fires and increase their danger,” he said.
Wildfires have ripped through other European countries this week as the
continent endures a brutal heat wave.
Tens of thousands were evacuated in Turkey as the western Izmir and
Manisa provinces and southern Hatay province, damaging nearly 200
homes.
Blazes also broke out in France and in Spain, where two people died.
Europe experiences wildfires every year, but they are becoming due to
human-caused climate change, which fuels heat and drought, both helping
set the stage for fierce, destructive fires.
CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller contributed to reporting
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