Greece tourist warning: Tourist resort evacuated as wildfire rages on stunning island
Lincolnshire: Eight cars catch fire in 'tornado' blaze
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Firefighters have deployed seven planes and a helicopter to tackle the fierce blaze in Greece. The team has sent for reinforcements from northern Greece.
The fire is burning on two fronts, one by Vrisa village and another inside the popular area of Vatera
It broke out at 10am local time and led to the evacuation of the busy beach resort of West Lesbos.
The mayor of West Lesbos, Taxiarchis Verros, ordered the evacuation as a precautionary measure.
The Athens news agency reported that the mayor acted on the advice of the Greek fire brigade.
Tourists were evacuated from the resort in several buses and small boats after at least two houses were ravaged by the fire.
Firefighting Greece posted: “Forces of the Fire Service and volunteers are fighting the flames in the area of Rogada of Vatera in order to control a forest fire.
“The case is judged by the fire authorities to be particularly serious for this reason and the entire forest fire fighting mechanism has been activated.”
Photos of the fire showed flames burning in the hills above tourist beaches with parasols and sun loungers.
Lesbos is a popular tourist destination and many international visitors travel each summer to enjoy the island’s beaches.
Tourists are advised to follow the advice of local authorities at all times and to be prepared to evacuate if they are in the area.
Firefighters are also battling a fierce blaze on the Greek mainland which has struck within the Dadia national park.
The fire in the protected park burned almost 2,000 acres of the nature reserve after starting on Thursday.
Dadia is home to hundreds of animal and plant species and is a core breeding area for threatened breeds.
Another wildfire near Athens damaged homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate after gale-force winds earlier this week.
Although wildfires are fairly common in Greece, they are becoming more extreme and three people were killed in blazes last year.
The country’s worst wildfire occurred in 2018 in Mati, near Athens when 102 people lost their lives.
More than 140 people were hospitalised by the fire and some of them suffered severe burns.
Many residents lost their homes and livelihoods in the fierce blaze which is one of Greece’s worst ever natural disasters.
Extreme weather events such as wildfires are becoming more common due to climate change.
As temperatures soared across Europe during July, fires broke out in Spain, France, Portugal and the UK.
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