Greek firefighters continued battling a wildfire on the island of Crete on Friday, although authorities said conditions had improved after thousands of residents and tourists were evacuated.
"The situation around Rethymno is better," a fire service spokesperson told AFP.
"But the blaze has not yet been contained. There are still many hotspots," he added.
According to meteo.gr, the weather service of the National Observatory of Athens, about 4,500 hectares were burned on Wednesday and Thursday south of the tourist town of Rethymno, based on satellite imagery from the EU's Copernicus programme.
Strong winds accelerate fires
Strong winds and rugged terrain continued to hamper firefighting efforts, while extensive damage was reported around the seaside resort of Agia Galini, where authorities ordered the evacuation of around 8,000 residents and tourists on Wednesday.
Most evacuees have since returned to their homes and hotels as Crete's peak tourist season continues.
"My entire cafe was destroyed. This place supported two families, mine and my son's," local cafe owner Thrasyvoulos Paterakis, 69, told AFP.
"We're now out on the street," he said.
Other wildfires in the region
A separate wildfire was burning on the Peloponnese near the port city of Patras, where four water-bombing aircraft and three helicopters were deployed near the village of Floka.
Smaller fires were also burning on the Aegean islands of Paros, Kalymnos and Andros, although authorities said conditions there had improved.
Firefighters and civil protection services remain on nationwide alert, with many parts of Greece — including Athens, Crete, several Aegean islands and parts of the Peloponnese — facing a "very high" wildfire risk, the second-highest level on the country's five-point scale.
Forecast winds of up to 88 kilometres per hour disrupted ferry services to several tourist islands and continued to complicate firefighting operations.
"The gusts are literally carrying the fire and spreading it in all directions," Theodore Giannaros, a senior researcher at the National Observatory of Athens, told public broadcaster ERT.
"The strong winds are lifting embers that can spark new outbreaks, sometimes far from the main fire front," he added.
Fire brigade spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said additional firefighting resources had been deployed to Crete, but strong winds, dense smoke and poor visibility were making aerial water drops extremely difficult.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned on Thursday that Greece was entering a traditionally difficult period for wildfires.
"August is traditionally a difficult month," he said.
Greek authorities said three firefighters have died this week while battling wildfires in Crete and the Peloponnese.
