Three Firefighters Die Battling Massive Wildfires in Greece

Three firefighters have died in Greece as gale-force winds continue to fuel massive wildfires across the country. Two firefighters were killed in the line of duty when their fire truck was trapped by flames in a mountainous forest near Rethymno Crete.

The blaze has stretched over 15 kilometers and remains completely out of control according to local officials. A third firefighter died from suspected medical complications after being found unconscious near the port of Gythio in the Peloponnese. Deputy Fire Department Spokesman Yiannis Artopios confirmed the deaths. More than 150 firefighters and eight aircraft are currently battling the Rethymno fire though 74 km/h winds are severely hampering aerial operations. The crisis has triggered mass evacuations. Residents of at least six villages in Crete were ordered to leave. Additional fires have broken out on the islands of Paros and Lesbos, as well as in the Messinia and Laconia regions.

Authorities evacuated 10 villages on Paros earlier this week, though conditions there have since stabilized. On Lesbos emergency crews are working to contain a rapidly spreading fire near a landfill in Plomari. Greece faces destructive wildfires almost every summer. Prolonged drought extreme heat waves and intense winds create ideal conditions for blazes to spread rapidly.

In response to the escalating threat the Civil Protection Ministry has placed several regions—including Greater Athens Crete the eastern Peloponnese and most Aegean islands—on near-maximum fire alert.