Strong Winds Hamper Efforts to Control Crete Wildfire
A wildfire on Crete forced thousands to evacuate as strong winds grounded firefighting aircraft, with crews battling multiple fronts across southern Greece.
The blaze, which ignited Wednesday afternoon near Krya Vrysi in the Rethymno regional unit, has torn through multiple fronts, destroying agricultural land, crops, homes and livestock across southern Crete. Strong winds grounded water-dumping aircraft throughout Thursday morning, hampering efforts to contain the fire from the air.
Giorgos Tsapakos, Crete’s deputy regional governor for civil protection, confirmed that aircraft remained unable to operate due to wind conditions. He warned that meteorological data indicated winds would intensify later in the day, potentially worsening the situation.
Several villages were evacuated as the fire advanced on multiple fronts. Agia Galini saw approximately 8,000 residents and visitors forced to leave on Wednesday, though authorities reported conditions improving by Thursday morning, allowing evacuees to return to their homes.
Firefighting teams remain focused on the most challenging front near Agia Paraskevi, where dozens of firefighters are working to establish containment lines around the blaze.
The Crete wildfire comes as Greece faces another active fire season. A separate wildfire on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos also showed signs of improvement on Thursday, as Kathimerini (EN) reports.
Authorities have not yet disclosed the cause of either fire or provided damage assessments.
With information from Kathimerini (EN)
