Pillars of billowing smoke and ash are blocking out the sun above Greece’s second-largest island as a days-old wildfire devours pristine forests and triggers more evacuation alerts.
A ferry arrives with evacuees from the burning Evia island, background, at Arkitsa port in mainland Greece, about 155 kilometers north of Athens, Greece, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021. Pillars of billowing smoke and ash have blocked out the sun, turning the sky orange as a massive forest fire burning for five days devours pristine forests on Greece's second largest island of Evia, triggering yet more evacuation alerts as residents appealed for greater firefighting help.
“It’s already too late, the area has been destroyed,” Giannis Kontzias, mayor of the northern Evia municipality of Istiaia, lamented on Greece’s Open TV. He was one of several local officials and residents who took to Greek TV networks to appeal for more firefighting help, particularly from water-dropping planes and helicopters.
Acrid, choking smoke hung in the orange-grey air, turning the day into an apocalyptic twilight as people headed towards Pefki's pebble beach, dragging suitcases, clutchingThe ferry, carrying panicked, exhausted evacuees who had boarded the vessel before the advance of the fire was halted, arrived at Arkitsa on Sunday evening. Passengers complained they had been left to fend for themselves as the fire approched.
In the picturesque mountain village of Gouves, towering flames leaped from the treetops, devouring the pine forest leading to the village. Some residents remained, dousing homes with water from garden hoses in a last-ditch effort to save them. Others used bulldozers to raze trees and bushes, hoping to create rudimentary firebreaks.
The fire department said Sunday 575 firefighters, 35 ground teams and 89 vehicles were battling the Evia wildfire, including 112 Romanian and 100 Ukrainian firefighters. Four helicopters and three planes provided air support.
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