Forest rangers fought inside the fire front throughout the night, along with more than 300 firefighters, with the aim of stopping any reignition mainly on the fronts of Apodoulou, Platanos and Vathiakos, in the fire burning since noon on Wednesday in agroforestry land in Rethymnon.

At first light eight airplanes were airborne to make water drops while more than 300 firefighters are in the area of the municipality of Amari, Heraklion, Crete, battling the flames.

The winds have died down and the work of the firefighters is clearly easier however there is great concern about what will happen from midday onwards where – according to the weather forecasters – the winds will increase.

Three more aircraft from the rest of the country are expected in the area to reinforce the firefighting work. The geomorphology of the terrain does not allow vehicles to reach the outbreaks, making the presence of aircraft and hiking sections necessary, cretapost.gr.

Nine villages evacuated

In the difficult firefight yesterday nine villages were evacuated. Agia Paraskevi, Platanos, Apodoulou, Vathiako, Lohriya, Adratos, Rizikas, Satta and Chordaki.

Almost every quarter 112 was “sounding” informing citizens to proceed to evacuate settlements.

The elderly were transported to the Cultural Center of Fourfouras by buses of the KTEL and private vehicles.

Thousands of acres, as Amari mayor Pantelis Mourtzanos told AP-MPA, have been burned, mainly with arable land and olive groves, resulting in the agricultural economy of the residents and the municipality being greatly affected. He also stressed that today he will apply to declare the municipality as fire-affected, so that the procedures for the support of the affected people and the restoration of the damage can be done immediately. Damage included water supply and irrigation networks, electrical supplies and networks, among others.

The situation is clearly better, the strength of the winds has decreased and, as stressed by the Coordination Centre, it is hoped that today the fire-fighting forces will be able to complete their work.

Request to declare areas in a state of emergency

The mayor of Amariy, Pantelis Mourtzanos, requests in a document that the fire-affected areas of the municipality of Amariy be declared in a state of emergency due to the great damage caused by the fire.

Specifically, in the document, which is also communicated to the Regional Governor of Crete Mr. Stavros Arnaoutakis and the Deputy Regional Governor of Rethymnon Ms. Mary Lyoni, the Mayor of Amari informs that since the midday hours of August 7, 2024, the Municipality is being tested by uncontrolled fires of many outbreaks and long frontal areas. The fires have destroyed vast areas in the Municipal Communities of Agia Paraskevi, Agios Ioannis, Ano Meros and Apodoulos, leaving behind extensive damage to public infrastructure, such as utility networks, water points, as well as to agricultural land, with olive groves, vineyards and grasslands burnt to the ground. For this reason, as Mr. Mourtzanos argues, it becomes necessary to immediately declare these areas in a state of civil protection emergency.