ATHENS — Firefighters battled fires on the eastern Aegean islands of Chios and Kos on Monday as Greece’s prime minister warned of a dangerous summer ahead and said public help was essential to limit the impact. of the fires.
Emergency services issued evacuation orders for people in the Mothi region of western Chios and urged them to head to a nearby beach. Further south in the Aegean, on the island of Kos, the fire department said 20 personnel, a helicopter and several volunteers were fighting a fire in an area of bushland in the center of the island.
The fires came a day after firefighters brought under control two large wildfires near Athens that had been fanned by strong winds.
“We have had an exceptionally difficult June in terms of weather conditions, with high levels of drought and unusually strong winds for this time of year,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during a government meeting on Monday. This year’s summer, he said, “is expected to be especially dangerous” in terms of fires.
Mitsotakis said the use of drones as part of an early warning system had been particularly useful this year and said better coordination between authorities and volunteer firefighters had limited the extent of the damage so far.
“We are entering the tough middle part of the firefighting period, and of course this will not be won without help from the population as well, especially in the field of prevention,” said Mitsotakis.
Hot, dry weather combined with strong winds helped fan the flames in both Greece and Turkey last month. This year’s summer is expected to be especially fire-prone after a very dry and warm winter. Greece suffered extensive fires last year that killed more than 20 people.
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