Fire burns on Evia; village evacuated
A fire burning on the island of Evia has led authorities to evacuate a village, although no houses had been threatened as of late Saturday afternoon.
21 fire engines and 70 firefighters, along with 9 planes and 4 helicopters and an unknown number of volunteers are trying to contain the fire in the central part of the island, east of Chalkida, Evia’s biggest city, Greece’s Fire Service says.
The village of Kremastos (pop. 153) was evacuated earlier Saturday.
The northern part of the island, Greece’s second largest, was devastated by wildfires in August 2021.
Hot and dry weather, along prevalent high winds in the area, make Evia, as well as many other parts of Greece, vulnerable to wildfires. Authorities have said the likelihood of wildfires has recently increased because of the climate change.
