Wildfires rage on Greek island

[ad_1] Nikos Papanikolaou & Tiffany Wertheimer BBC Information

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/9299/live/e0a6af20-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/9299/live/e0a6af20-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/9299/live/e0a6af20-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/9299/live/e0a6af20-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/9299/live/e0a6af20-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/9299/live/e0a6af20-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/9299/live/e0a6af20-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/9299/live/e0a6af20-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="REUTERS/Konstantinos Anagnostou Firemen work to extinguish a wildfire near the village of Karyes on Chios island, Greece, June 22, 2025. There are many firefighters, with huge flames in the background." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> REUTERS/Konstantinos Anagnostou Firefighters from Athens and Thessaloniki have been deployed to the island on Monday

A state of emergency has been declared on the Greek island of Chios the place 5 separate wildfires are burning and being fanned by sturdy winds.

Residents in 17 communities have been evacuated and an arson investigation has been launched into what induced the completely different fronts to start out is such a brief period of time.

Three forest fires broke out on Sunday within the areas of Kofinas, Agia Anna and Agios Makarios. A fourth blaze erupted shortly after midnight in Agios Markos, adopted by a fifth entrance on Monday morning in Agiasmata.

The blaze has already broken properties, crops and infrastructure on the Aegean island, with native media reporting that a number of homes have been destroyed.

There's a average excessive temperature warning on Chios, with highs of about 30C, however it's anticipated to get hotter towards the top of the week.

About 190 firefighters have been working on the island, supported by 11 plane and helicopters. A further 90 firefighters are additionally because of arrive from Athens and Thessaloniki, authorities mentioned.

Photos from the island present locals making an attempt to assist firefighters, throwing buckets of water on flames and utilizing clothes to attempt to pat out smaller spot fires.

Native media reported in depth injury to quite a lot of homes and at the least one distillery, with some residents saying they'd been unable to return to see if their property had been broken.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/2223/live/a4536a90-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/2223/live/a4536a90-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2223/live/a4536a90-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/2223/live/a4536a90-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/2223/live/a4536a90-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/2223/live/a4536a90-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/2223/live/a4536a90-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2223/live/a4536a90-503e-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Getty Images Residents try to contain a wildfire near a small building outside the town of Chios island in Greece, June 22, 2025. One lady is holding a bucket of water." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Getty Pictures Locals have been serving to firefighters throughout the island

Local weather Disaster and Civil Safety Minister Ioannis Kefalogiannis travelled to Chios, and mentioned after an emergency assembly that he's "troubled and anxious" in regards to the outbreak of a number of fires in several elements of the island "and not using a clear rationalization".

"That is one thing that have to be investigated completely," he added.

In the meantime, a staff from the fireplace service's Arson Investigation Unit, working alongside native law enforcement officials, has launched an investigation into what induced the fires.

The native energy grid has been broken by the fires, inflicting outages within the wider Vrontados space. Groups from the Hellenic Electrical energy Distribution Community (HEDNO) have been despatched from the neighbouring island of Lesvos to hold out repairs.

Some deliberate energy cuts have additionally been launched to assist firefighting operations.

Water provide points and injury to infrastructure have additionally been reported.

That is the primary main wildfire this summer time for Greece, which is not any stranger to devastating fires and excessive warmth.

On Chios, an intense wildfire in 2012 worn out greater than half of the island's iconic mastic - a tree resin utilized in cooking and prescribed drugs - disrupting the worldwide provide of the so-called "tears of Chios".