The fire in Rhodes is raging out of control, with firefighters set to battle it all night long, battling strong winds that are hampering extinguishing efforts, compounded by the heatwave conditions currently affecting the country. Settlements have been evacuated, while much of the island has been plunged into darkness, and frantic efforts are underway to restore power to both Rhodes and Halki.
At the same time, the fire front in Soufli, Evros, is still active, and throughout the night by a reinforced team of 108 firefighters with 26 vehicles, foot patrols, and the assistance of the Armed Forces and volunteer firefighters.
The outbreaks in Achaea, Aetolia-Acarnania, and Larissa are now subsiding.
A total of 116 fires have broken out across the country in the past two days—today, Sunday, 60 fires and 56 on Saturday—with the Deputy Minister of Civil Protection and Crisis Management, Nikos Hardalias, emphasizing that «we are no longer talking about climate change, but about a climate threat.».
«Rhodes and Evros are our main concerns right now, with the largest fire currently raging on Rhodes, where the entire government apparatus is doing its part to fight it,» said Mr. Hardalias, speaking Sunday evening on the STAR television station.
The fire on Rhodes broke out at noon on Sunday in a forested area near the Pantanassa region and spread rapidly, constantly changing direction due to strong winds.
An order for the precautionary evacuation of the village of Psinthos was issued shortly before 8:00 p.m. on Sunday evening. «If you are in Psinthos, Rhodes, evacuate immediately toward Afantou via the Afantou-Psinthos Provincial Road,» stated the Civil Protection emergency alert issued via 112.
In addition to Psinthos, the village of Maritsa was also evacuated as a precaution, while earlier in the afternoon, the flames had advanced menacingly toward the Valley of the Butterflies, prompting authorities to proceed with the precautionary evacuation of visitors and staff. As a precautionary measure, the Kalamona military camp was also evacuated.
According to initial estimates, extensive damage has been reported.
At the fire front, 67 firefighters are operating alongside three teams of airborne foot patrols from the 1st EMAK and the Northern Aegean, while by sunset, four helicopters and three aircraft, including the Russian Beriev-200, had carried out water drops.
The Fire Department is assisted in its work by the army, volunteer firefighters, and local government water trucks.
The Island in the Dark
Most of the island was left without electricity, as aerial water drops to extinguish the fire caused serious problems in the high-voltage grid, initially taking the N. Rhodes and, subsequently, the Soroni Power Plant, resulting in a complete power outage across the Rhodes-Chalki grid.
Power restoration began gradually last night, and, as HEDNO notes in a related announcement, »all of its technical staff, in close cooperation with the Public Power Corporation (PPC) and in coordination with Civil Protection, are making superhuman efforts to restore power to all units as quickly as possible.".
«We had to drop water from the air to save certain areas, and this caused the Public Power Corporation’s cables to short-circuit, resulting in a blackout. Repair crews are working tirelessly to restore power, and we believe that a very large part of the island will have power again soon,» said Nikos Hardalias.
