Wildfires burned out of control in parts of Greece on Saturday, forcing evacuations, destroying homes and prompting emergency responses as authorities battled blazes fueled by strong winds.
The most severe fire was burning near Porto Germeno, a seaside town on the Gulf of Corinth, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of Athens. Authorities sent three emergency alerts through Greece’s 112 system overnight, ordering residents to evacuate affected areas, while 12 people were evacuated by boat in the early hours of Saturday.
Images from the area showed extensive destruction, including burned homes, a fire engine destroyed by flames and reports of dead animals found along roads.
A new flare-up was reported in Livadostra, further west along the Gulf of Corinth, where residents also received evacuation warnings. An evacuation was carried out Friday at the nearby settlement of Agios Vasileios.
Firefighting forces were reinforced in Aigialeia, a coastal area in western Greece near the city of Patra, while the situation improved in Rethymno on the island of Crete.
