While hardly comparable with the enormous conflagrations being experienced in France and Spain, what was for Crete a major wildfire broke out in the south of the Nomos of Rethymnon on Wednesday, spreading along a front of 15 km, necessitating the evacuation of several villages and claiming the lives of two firemen. According to a report in Haniotika Nea, the fire broke out at midday on Wednesday 29th July near the village of Krya Vrisi and spread quickly as a result of strong winds, which made firefighting operations in the area extremely difficult.
On Wednesday afternoon the fire was being tackled by 125 firemen and 27 vehicles along with six pedestrian teams from the Special Forest Operations Teams (EMODE) set up in 2021 for the prevention of forest fires and to provide immediate intervention for outbreaks in areas difficult of access. Firefighting helicopters and aircraft were also held in readiness, but were reported to be unusable because of the high winds. Tanker trucks and heavy equipment were also brought from the village of Agios Vasileios 25 km away.
Rescue from the sea
Also on Wednesday, operations by the Coastguard were under way to rescue people trapped in the area of Agios Pavlos. By the evening 29 people had been safely removed by Coastguard vessels as well as private craft which took part in the operation. Both Coastguard patrol boats and private craft remained on standby in the area to provide further help if needed.
Agia Galini evacuated
At the same time the popular tourist resort of Agia Galini was evacuated, along with nine villages including Agios Pavlos. Hotels in the Rethymnon area were alerted to receive evacuees, while the Hoteliers’ Union of Rethymnon was recording the availability of accommodation to receive those displaced if necessary.
The Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, the Tourism Ministry, the Region of Crete and the municipalities of Agios Vasileios and Faestos were cooperating in the safe transport of people out of the area.
The loss of two firemen
Two firemen lost their lives while tackling the blaze, one 25 years old from the village of Fourfouras and one 58 years old from Gerakari. According to a local newspaper, the two had been trapped by the flames and had left their vehicle but had been unable to escape on foot.
The bodies of the two firemen were transported to Rethymnon Hospital, where there were also a citizen and a fireman with minor injuries from the fire. Condolences were received by the families and colleagues of the two firemen from the government, political leaders and regional government representatives.
The situation on Thursday
According to a report in Rethemniotika Nea, on Thursday morning the situation had improved somewhat but conditions remained extremely difficult because of the gale force winds. People were being allowed to return to Agia Galini but not to the other villages evacuated, as fears of resurgences of fire remained high.
Early in the morning Fire Service crews had arrived from Athens and other areas to reinforce the firefighting effort, with conditions in the area described as “asphyxiating”. A total of 224 firefighters were now on the scene, along with 11 pedestrian teams of the 3rd, 19th and 6th EMODE, volunteers and 53 vehicles, while 2 helicopters were on standby, but were again unable to fly because of the high winds.
The Fire Risk Map for Thursday 30th July shows much of the country at high risk from fire. The map, published at 12:30 daily, shows the fire risk assessment for the following day. Source: Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection.
The whole of Crete remained on orange alert (very high risk of fire) on Thursday, while much of the rest of the country was on orange or yellow (high risk) alert, with people being reminded to take extra precautions to avoid activities which could lead to the outbreak of fire.
(Haniotika Nea, Rethemniotika Nea, 30/07/26)