On Sunday afternoon, a massive fire broke out on the Greek island of Rhodes. A powerful wind constantly changes its direction, but the fire is purposefully moving towards the famous Valley of the Butterflies.
The fire began in a forest in the Soroni area, near Pantanassa. According to CNN Greece, firefighters are selflessly fighting fire day and night. Several power grids were damaged, some areas of the island were de-energized and without water supply for several hours.
Reinforced firefighters and aviation are involved in extinguishing the fire, including the Russian Be-200ES amphibious aircraft. Numerous volunteers are trying to rescue animals – peacocks, deer and rare species from nearby farms. They call for help from all who are not indifferent.
Today it is reported that the spread of fire to the popular among tourists Valley of the Butterflies was prevented. The unique nature reserve is located 26 km south-west of the capital of the island – Rhodes.
Nikos Hardalias, Deputy Minister for the Protection of Greek Citizens, says:
“The last days have been hard, with many pockets of fire. We had 60 fires today. If you add 56 fires yesterday, then in just two days we had 116 fires. The biggest fire at the moment is in Rhodes, where the entire state machinery is fighting a battle with fire. “
On Sunday, there was a fight against strong fires near the city of Larissa and in the Achaia region of the Peloponnese. All Greece suffers from abnormal heat, cement and marble surfaces on the Acropolis were heated to 55 ° C. In many areas, the thermometers show + 44-47 ° С. The peak of the heat is expected on 4 August, Wednesday.
Extreme hot conditions will continue until at least Thursday 05/08. From today, Monday, August 2, the arrival of hot air masses from Africa is expected to intensify. The temperature will increase. The expected maximums vary in the range of 43-45 degrees, locally they can reach + 46-47 ° С. A decrease in temperature is expected from Friday 6 August.
More Stories
Unknown persons blew up an ATM in Patras and stole money
In the shallow waters of Glyfada "got lost" shark (video)
Fire in the ΟΑΣΘ bus in Thessaloniki (video)