Greece fires – live: Rhodes state of emergency remains as flames reach outskirts of Athens

Fire Service spokesman Ioannis Artopios said 12 villages were ordered to be evacuated

Plane fighting wildfires in Evia crashes

A wildfire has triggered a series of massive explosions at an air force ammunition depot in central Greece.

The depot was evacuated before the explosions, which shattered windows in the surrounding area. No injuries were reported, although continued blasts prevented firefighting teams from approaching the site.

Greek state broadcaster ERT said the facility is in the coastal town of Nea Aghialos near the Volos area.

The fire reached the ammunition storage facility about four miles north of the major military air base in Nea Anchialos. Local media reported that bombs and ammunition for Greek F-16 fighters were stored at the site

The fighter jets are reportedly being moved from the air base.

Fire Service spokesman Ioannis Artopios said 12 villages were ordered to be evacuated in the Volos-Nea Anchialos area.

Meanwhile, the blaze reached the outskirts of Athens, with 61 fires breaking out across the country in 24 hours.

Deadly wildfires on Greece’s mainland have killed two as wildfires spread in Europe and north Africa including Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Italy, France, Croatia, Spain, Algeria and Tunisia.

Key Points

• Fire risk remains ‘extreme’ for several areas of Greece today, fire brigade warns
• Mainland Greece hit by fresh wildfires overnight
• ‘It was like an apocalypse’: Palermo journalist recalls overnight blaze
• UK advises people visiting Greece to carry ‘appropriate insurance’

[27 July 2023 17:00 · Martha Mchardy]

In pictures: Wildfires wreak havoc across Rhodes

A burnt cactus stands on a hill near Gennadi village (AP)

A burnt cactus stands on a hill near Gennadi village, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes (AP)

Burnt trees and vegetation are seen after a wildfire near Gennadi village, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes (AP)

Burnt cars are seen after a wildfire near Gennadi village, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes (AP)

A charred chicken caught in the wild fires is pictured, close to the village of Gennadi, in the southern part of the Greek island of Rhodes (AFP via Getty Images)

[27 July 2023 17:37 · Martha Mchardy]

Rhodes holiday maker: Tui rep urged my family to ignore evacuation order

A father forced to flee a hotel with his family to escape the fire on Rhodes has said a Tui rep urged his family to ignore an evacuation order.

Ian Noble, 41, claimed the company “valued money over the safety of their guests” by urging them to ignore initial evacuation orders.

Mr Noble, an IT professional from Chesham, Buckinghamshire, was staying at the Atlantica Dreams hotel with his wife, Rebecca, and their four-year-old daughter, Genevieve.

He was among the guests who received an alert from the Greek authorities on their mobile phones at 11am on Saturday ordering them to leave the area as the fire was spreading towards them.

Mr Noble said Tui reps and hotel management convinced them it was safer to remain where they were.

But at around 9pm that night there was “banging on the hotel room door and we were told ‘you need to run, go now’,” he told the PA news agency.

A Tui rep told them coaches would collect them from the resort’s main gates, but the hotel manager started “screaming” at them to begin walking towards a beach.

Wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes (Ian Noble/PA) (PA Media)

He claimed Tui “knew what was happening” in terms of the need to evacuate but convinced guests to remain at the hotel for several hours because the company thought “we still need to make some money” and “they valued money over the safety of their guests”.

A Tui spokeswoman said: “We understand how distressing and difficult it’s been for those who had to leave their hotels and curtail their holidays due to the wildfires in Rhodes.

“Our teams have worked round the clock to offer support and we brought in many additional reps to help assist as soon as the situation escalated.

“They’ve done their utmost in challenging and difficult situations, collaborating with the local authorities who managed the immediate evacuation.

“We relocated impacted customers in new hotels as soon as we could and have brought hundreds of people home.

“Many more travelled back to the UK on flights yesterday and today and our teams will be in touch with everyone who impacted on their return.”

[27 July 2023 18:00 · Martha Mchardy]

Watch: Ice covers road in Germany as extreme weather hits country

[27 July 2023 18:30 · Martha Mchardy]

One in four Britons think climate change is out of control, according to survey

One in four people in the UK think the climate crisis is out of control, a new survey has revealed.

An Ipsos poll revealed two-thirds think we are already feeling the effects of climate change, while more than half think there is still time to deal with it.

Six out of 10 people polled also think the Conservative government is doing a bad job at dealing with the crisis, but less than three in 10 think Labour do a better job.

[27 July 2023 19:00 · Martha Mchardy]

Dangerous US heat wave pushes eastward, capping globe's record July

An intensifying heat wave descended on the eastern United States on Thursday, prompting warnings about the dangers presented by the sweltering heat and humidity in the final days of a record-smashing July around the world.

Some 180 million Americans - about half the population of the United States - are under heat watches and warnings, with temperatures and heat index values well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) in the forecast until at least Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

Officials in New York City, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and other big cities urged people to avoid working or playing outside, to drink plenty of fluids and to check on loved ones and neighbors.

“The next four days will be extremely hot - take care of yourself and the people around you,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said on X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. The nation’s capital was expected to see the heat index, a measure of what the temperature feels like to the human body, reach 107 degrees F (41.7 C).

In Philadelphia, officials declared a health heat emergency until Saturday and created a phone help line for the elderly, opened cooling centers and increased homeless outreach.

Cooling centers have also been opened across New York City for those who do not have access to air conditioning. The heat index could reach 103 degrees F (39.4 C) on Friday in the most populous U.S. city.

“Heat is deadly, and climate change is making extreme heat more frequent and even more dangerous, especially for vulnerable New Yorkers,” New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said in a statement.

[27 July 2023 19:30 · Martha Mchardy]

Britons face ‘absolute nightmare’ trying to get refunds for Rhodes holidays

British tourists are struggling to get refunds for holidays to Rhodes after the island was hit by wildfires, with one woman describing her situation as an “absolute nightmare”.

Anita Madhas, 49, was scheduled to travel to Rhodes in early August with her 72-year-old mother in a group of around 20 friends and family, but they no longer wish to go to the island after their hotel, the Lindos Imperial, was partially damaged by fire.

Ms Madhas paid just over £1,000 for return flights for herself and her mother for August 3 to 13, which have not been cancelled.

She said: “That flight is scheduled to go out to Rhodes and I won’t get a refund. I only get a refund if that flight is cancelled.

“It’s just an absolute nightmare at the moment. I’m trying to get everybody to get some kind of transfer or refund, so that we can all rebook and go somewhere else.

“Even if we decided to change the hotel to a different destination on the island, there’s still no 100% guarantee that the hotel is going to be safe and our holiday is going to be what we expected it to be.”

Ryanair press office told the PA news agency: “Ryanair flights to/from Rhodes are currently operating as scheduled and remain unaffected by the forest fires.

“All passengers travelling from Tuesday 25 to Sunday 30 July inclusive to/from Rhodes can change their flight free of charge online via the website/app.”

A wildfire burns in Vati village, on Rhodes island (EPA)

[27 July 2023 20:00 · Martha Mchardy]

Toursist face ‘uncertainty’ as holidays cancelled

Colin Spicer, 42, who had planned to travel to Rhodes with his wife and their two daughters, aged 11 and 15, said their hotel, the Rodos Princess Beach, had announced all reservations would be cancelled until the end of August.

He added that easyJet Holidays has not said if it will cancel or amend the package holiday.

Mr Spicer said easyJet has “not been very helpful at all given they’ve got quite a substantial amount of our money” for the family’s holiday, booked from August 22.

Addressing the company, he said: “Your hotelier is saying it’s not going to open, so you’ve got no option but to give that money back because you can’t fulfil the holiday to what we’ve booked.”

He said his family are hesitant to book another summer holiday while they wait for clarity from easyJet Holidays due to the “uncertainty” of whether they will be refunded.

The firm told PA: “EasyJet Holidays has cancelled package holidays to impacted resorts in the south of Rhodes departing up to and including 29 July and has proactively contacted impacted customers who are due to travel, and processed full refunds.

“We are also contacting customers due to travel to a small number of resorts that remain impacted in Rhodes up to 10 August to discuss their options.

“EasyJet continues to operate its flying schedule to Rhodes, however, we understand that some customers travelling to the affected area may want to change their plans.

“Customers who are booked to travel to or from Rhodes until 29 July can transfer for free to another date or can request a flight voucher for the value of their unused flights, by calling easyJet Customer Services.”

[27 July 2023 20:30 · Martha Mchardy]

Watch: Good samaritan gives water to thirsty lizard after devastating wildfire in Turkey leaves forest in ashes

[27 July 2023 20:37 · Martha Mchardy]

Wildfire triggers massive explosions at air force ammunition depot

A wildfire has triggered a series of massive explosions at an air force ammunition depot in central Greece.

The depot was evacuated before the explosions, which shattered windows in the surrounding area.

No injuries were reported, although continued blasts prevented firefighting teams from approaching the site.

Greek state broadcaster ERT said the facility is in the coastal town of Nea Aghialos near the Volos area.

The fire reached the ammunition storage facility about four miles north of the major military air base in Nea Anchialos. Local media reported that bombs and ammunition for Greek F-16 fighters were stored at the site

The fighter jets are reportedly being moved from the air base.

Fire Service spokesman Ioannis Artopios said 12 villages were ordered to be evacuated in the Volos-Nea Anchialos area.

“Despite their superhuman efforts, our forces were unable to stop the blaze,” he said.

He said the blaze was the most dangerous of the 124 wildfires the fire service had to deal with on Thursday.

The wildfire burned on three fronts and forced a section of Greece’s busiest highway to close for several hours while national rail services passing through the area were delayed.

State ERT television showed residents and visitors in the coastal village of Anchialos, close to the blast site, being evacuated by sea while others were leaving in cars and buses.

The mayor of the city of Volos, Achilleas Beos, appealed to all remaining village residents to obey the evacuation order, saying some 80% had left. The coastguard said dozens of residents were taken in small private boats to the city of Volos.

The Nea Anchialos air base is 12 miles from the city, where the blasts were heard loudly. The air force said that while the facility was not immediately threatened, some of the F-16 fighters based there were taking off for other air bases as a precaution.

Firefighters and volunteers try to extinguish a wildfire in the town of Nea Anchialos, near Volos city, central Greece (AP)

[27 July 2023 21:00 · Martha Mchardy]

Wildfires ‘will clearly happen again’ and travel industry plans ‘need overhaul’

Wildfires in the Mediterranean will “clearly happen again” and the travel industry needs to “rework its plans”, it has been claimed.

Paul Charles, CEO of travel PR firm PC Agency, called for an overhaul of the Foreign Office travel advice system which left holidaymakers “confused and worried about losing their money”.

It comes after thousands of Britons have been rescued from fire-hit parts of the popular Greek holiday island Rhodes while others are having to cancel planned trips.

Jordan Reynolds reports: