New Evacuations Ordered in Greece as High Winds and Heat Fuel Wildfires

New Evacuations Ordered in Greece as High Winds and Heat Fuel Wildfires
Flames burn a hill on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, southeastern Greece, on July 24, 2023. Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:
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RHODES, Greece—A week-old wildfire on the Greek resort island of Rhodes tore past defenses Monday, forcing more evacuations as strong winds and successive heat waves that left scrubland and forests tinder-dry fueled three major fires raging elsewhere in Greece.

The latest evacuations were ordered in south Rhodes after 19,000 people, mostly tourists, were moved in buses and boats over the weekend out of the path of the fire that reached several coastal areas from nearby mountains. It was the country’s biggest evacuation effort in recent years.