A forest fire rages on the Greek island of Lesvos. The fire has spread in two directions, reaching the seaside resort of Vatera.
Updated just now
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This is reported by several media, including The National Herald.
The fire started on Saturday morning around ten o’clock, and spread on two fronts, one of which moved towards the village of Vrisa and the other towards Vatera.
The fire has spread quickly with the help of strong gusts of wind.
Several houses, buildings and cars are said to have burned down, according to the Greek website iefimerida.
– We are fighting to save homes, said the mayor of the area, Taxiarchis Verros, to the state TV channel ERT, writes Reuters.
Are you on Lesvos? Feel free to contact us her.
When VG talks to Apollo’s communications manager, Beatriz Rivera, she has just read the news about the fires in the holiday town.
– It is just over 30 km from where we have guests, in Plomari, an hour’s drive away, she says.
–Fire chief of the local fire service, Giannis Artopaios, said in a crisis briefing that 50 firefighters divided into two teams and 17 water trucks are working on the blast. Nine aircraft and a helicopter are also assisting in the extinguishing work.
Volunteers also help to stop the flames, which in some places reached all the way down to the sea. The Coast Guard is said to have rescued 9 people from the beach.
The situation is characterized as very difficult, according to the fire service. According to the Greek City Times, the city is being evacuated. So far, no deaths have been reported as a result of the fire.
–Vatera is an important tourist destination on the island, with a large number of holiday homes. The National Herald writes that many of these were converted into homes for residents from Vrisa, which was badly hit by the earthquake in 2017.
Lesvos is also known for housing the Moria refugee camp, which has been several times affected by catastrophic fires. However, Vatera is located elsewhere on the island.
Earlier this week, a forest fire near Athens forced hundreds of people to flee. The authorities call this summer one of them toughest in the Mediterranean.
Last year, forest fires ravaged around 121,000 hectares of forest and scrubland across Greece during what was described as the country’s worst heatwave in 30 years.
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