Fires in Greece’s Crete and near Athens extinguished; two dead in Turkiye

A wildfire on the Greek island of Crete that forced the evacuation of 5,000 people has been extinguished, officials say.

Some 230 firefighters and six helicopters worked at the scene near the resort town of Ierapetra, where residents had to leave their homes and visitors their accommodation on Wednesday evening.

Reporting from the nearby village of Agia Fotia, media’s John Psaropoulos said there was “no active fire front” by Friday morning. Still, he added, helicopters were operating in the area to ensure there were no flare-ups.

The fire left forest trees and some olive trees burned but caused no casualties. Two local MPs told media efforts were under way for the return of the people who were evacuated after the blaze broke out.

Elsewhere in mainland Greece, a fire fanned by strong winds that erupted near the port town of Rafina, about 30km (18 miles) east of the capital, Athens, was brought under control on Thursday evening, authorities said.

However, firefighting crews remained on alert as winds remained strong.

The fire, which led to the evacuation of 300 people, destroyed a few houses and vehicles, local mayor Dimitris Markou told public broadcaster ERT.

It also disrupted ferries to and from tourist islands in the western Aegean Sea.

Greece has so far been spared the heatwave roasting parts of Europe, particularly Spain, Portugal and France. But starting this weekend, temperatures will rise and reach up to 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas of the country.