Gale force winds in many parts of Greece on Sunday, combined with high temperatures and arid conditions, raised wildfire alerts to “extreme risk” in many parts of the eastern Mediterranean country.
Wildfires are more-or-less an annual summertime scourge for the country, with devastating and in some cases deadly blazes having scorched areas of the country in the past, with scores of major fires erupting every year on the mainland and the islands.

Wildfires

On Sunday morning, the latest wildfire that erupted near the south-central coastal town of Nafpaktos was reported as mostly contained, although an alert was sent to local residents via SMS at 6 a.m.
Regions deemed as very high risk on Sunday included the areas around the Athens-Piraeus agglomeration, the islands of Kythira, Crete, Lesbos, Samos, Psara, Ikaria, southern Evia, Chios and the southern-most prefecture of Laconia.
Meanwhile, winds of near 9 on the Beaufort scale on the seas have suspended ferry boat routes to and from the main mainland port of Piraeus to numerous Aegean islands. Routes to the nearby Saronic Gulf island destinations are conducted with the master’s responsibility.