Firefighters battled through the night as a major wildfire continued to burn across the Greek island of Paros after breaking out on Tuesday, with strong winds and repeated flare-ups severely hampering efforts to contain the blaze.
According to Greece’s Civil Protection agency, emergency 112 alerts instructed residents of Agkairia, Trypiti, Aspro Chorio, Glyfa, and Pyrgaki to evacuate their homes and head either to Alyki Beach or to the village of Dryos.
The wildfire remains out of control, with volunteers joining firefighters in an effort to prevent it from spreading further.
Videos released overnight show flames surrounding forested and agricultural areas as the fire advances across the island.
Fire Threatens Residential Areas
The most critical front is located outside the village of Agkairia, although the fire has not yet entered any built-up residential areas.
Throughout the night, the flames repeatedly threatened nearby communities.
Reinforcements from the Athens region have joined the operation, including 66 firefighters, four specialized forest firefighting teams, and 16 fire engines.
There are also reports of power outages affecting numerous households in the area.
Strong Winds Accelerate the Spread
The wildfire began Tuesday afternoon in an area of low vegetation and spread rapidly because of gale-force winds.
According to the latest information, storage buildings and livestock have been destroyed, while several homes narrowly escaped the flames.
Fire service sources believe the fire spread so quickly because of the area’s dense low vegetation.
Winds on Paros are reaching Force 7 on the Beaufort scale and are expected to strengthen further during the day.
Several active fire fronts remain in difficult-to-access areas, while no aerial water drops were carried out overnight because firefighting aircraft were unable to operate after dark.
