'Wall of fire' forces sea evacuation in Greece as wildfires continue across Europe
As blazes strain fire services from the Mediterranean to the Midlands in the UK, questions are being asked about Europe's ability to deal with continued heatwaves.
A three-kilometre wall of flames up to 30 metres high forced hundreds of tourists into the sea off northern Greece, as wildfires also tore across, Croatia, France and the UK amid a punishing summer heatwave.
More than 200 firefighters, water-bombing planes and helicopters battled for hours to stop a blaze spreading across the Halkidiki peninsula, south of Thessaloniki, as it bore down on the resorts of Siviri and Fourka, packed with summer tourists.
Judging evacuation by road too dangerous, officials sent around 500 tourists into small boats, coast guard vessels and fire brigade craft, including roughly 200 taken to a ship waiting offshore, while cars trying to flee by road became gridlocked.
"We are on the beach and looking for a way to get away," one local homeowner, Sophia, told AFP, saying flames had already reached the town's houses.
Two firefighters were hospitalised, and authorities banned public access to the region's pine forests as forecasters warned of winds up to 100 km/h.
The fire was later brought under control, though crews stayed on alert for flare-ups.
Greece remains under its highest wildfire alert nationwide, still reeling from a blaze near Athens this month that killed two helicopter crew and burned 110 square kilometres of forest.
Coastal town evacuated
More than 150 firefighters battled a blaze that swept quickly from a pine forest into the tourist town of Lokva Rogoznica in Croatia, destroying homes and vehicles.
At least 1,000 displaced residents were sheltered in a sports hall in nearby Omis, and a coastal road was closed, causing long queues of traffic.
Croatia's fire chief, Slavko Tucakovic, warned of a "difficult night ahead" as reinforcements were called in, with four Canadair water-bombers grounded until dawn.
Officials said strong winds had driven the fire's spread and that some residents suffered burns. It followed a separate blaze on the island of Brac brought under control a day earlier, amid a heatwave setting record coastal temperatures.
Météo France placed four departments under its highest wildfire alert on Friday, warning that weather conditions make the risk of fires starting and spreading "very high compared with summer norms".
Overnight, firefighters brought the Aude blaze near Carcassonne under control after saving 73 homes, while the Pas-de-Calais fire near Mont-Frieux remained active into Friday morning.
With the heatwave persisting, authorities across France are urging continued vigilance heading into the weekend.
Teenager detained over fatal blaze
A 15-year-old has been placed under formal investigation and held in juvenile detention over a forest fire near Bordeaux airport that killed two firefighters trapped in their truck on 21 July.
The deaths, along with that of a volunteer firefighter in southeast France, have angered fire unions, whose representatives met Interior Minister Laurent Nunez this week but said his commitments fell short, threatening strike action in September over inadequate resources.
A wildfire with multiple points of origin tore through homes near Stourbridge in the UK on the region's hottest day of the year, damaging at least six properties and forcing evacuations.
Three firefighters and a child were hospitalised, while six others were treated for smoke inhalation.
West Midlands' Chief Fire Officer Simon Tuhill called it "one of the most significant incidents" the service had ever attended, blaming rapid spread on "tinder-dry" conditions.
Nearly three-quarters of England is in drought, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham has urged retailers to limit sales of disposable barbecues.
Hundreds of tourists rescued by boat as forest fire threatens northern Greek beaches
A fire service spokesman said the evacuation had to be by sea as the flames were getting close to the beaches.
A fleet of small boats evacuated hundreds of tourists from beaches in northern Greece as a forest fire bore down on two popular resorts.
Water bombing planes and helicopters and almost 150 firefighters battled the flames spreading across the Halkidiki peninsula south of the city of Thessaloniki, the fire service said.
Two injured firefighters were taken to hospital, the service added.
Within hours of erupting, the fire bore down on homes around the popular resorts of Siviri and Fourka, which are packed with summer tourists. The region is dominated by flammable pine forests.
And more than 250 tourists in bathing costumes, many carrying children in their arms, were evacuated by sea in 15 small boats brought into service for the emergency, ERT public television reported.
A fire service spokesman said the evacuation had to be by sea as the flames were getting close to the beaches.
Dozens queued on a pontoon at Fourka waiting to flee as smoke blotted out the sky over the resorts, according to images broadcast by ERT.
There were also traffic jams of cars trying to leave Fourka and Siviri.
Wall of flames
ERT said a three-kilometre-long wall of flames up to 30 metres high was closing in on the resorts.
"We are on the beach and looking for a way to get away," Sophia, a home owner in the region who only gave her first name, told the AFP news agency by phone.
"From where we are, we can see that flames have reached the town and the houses."
Firefighters said strong winds made the battle difficult.
Greek authorities had issued a maximum five alert for fires for much of the Greek mainland.
Halkidiki authorities had banned the public from entering the region's pine forests.
Weather forecasters have predicted winds of up to 100 kilometres (60 miles) an hour on Friday.
Greece is badly hit by wildfires every year and experts say the risk is growing because of human-fuelled climate change that has made droughts and other weather phenomena more extreme.
The authorities said that 40 forest fires were reported across Greece in 24 hours and that nine were still not controlled by late Thursday.
Already this month, two crew from a helicopter helping to battle a forest fire near Athens died when their aircraft collided with another helicopter in mid-air.
The fire destroyed 110 square kilometres of forest.
No comments:
Post a Comment