Athens, July 25, (dpa/GNA) – Powerful winds continued fuelling forest fires on the Greek island of Rhodes on Tuesday, threatening six villages north and west of Lindos, an ancient archaeological site.
At sunrise, firefighting planes and helicopters were again deployed to battle the wildfires, the fire brigade said in the morning.
“The firefighting work is proving very difficult, because of shifting winds,” a spokesman for the fire brigade told state radio.
So far, the wildfires have destroyed 150 square kilometres of forest and agricultural land on Rhodes, according to estimates. Countless deer, turtles and other wild and farm animals have died in the fires, say animal protection monitors.
A rare species of fallow deer is under threat, due to the wildfires, with many having died in the flames. Those who have survived are now looking for food and water in inhabited regions, state television reported.
Animal rights activists appealed to people in Rhodes to leave food and drinking water out in their gardens, to enable the deer to survive.
Meanwhile, investigations have begun into the causes of the fires. The public prosecutor’s office is looking into whether the fire brigade leadership took sufficient measures, when the fire was smaller, Greek state television reported.
Other fires are raging around the port city of Karystos on the island of Euboea in north-eastern Athens, also threatening villages.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Office warned that extremely high temperatures are set to prevail in almost all parts of the country on Tuesday, and particularly on Wednesday.
“Thermometers could show 46 degrees and above, especially on Wednesday,” a meteorologist told news channel Skai. The temperature is then forecast to cool to around 35 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Greece, fires are burning on the Peloponnese peninsula near the port city of Egion and on the island of Corfu, although the blazes are under control and are not threatening any populated areas, according to the fire brigade.
GNA