Village in Crete. Photo: Shutterstock Hundreds of firefighters continue today (Friday, July 31, 26) to battle the huge wildfire raging in the south of the island of Crete. The main focus of activity is in the Rethymno district. As we reported yesterday, there is no concern at this stage that the fires will reach the city, but many villages have been evacuated.
Nearly 300 firefighters, assisted by reinforcements from across Greece, are trying to bring the flames under control, while strong winds continue to complicate firefighting efforts.
Alongside the fire services, local residents and volunteers also participated in the efforts, with water tankers from local authorities and heavy engineering equipment from neighboring authorities assisting in operations on the ground.
According to an initial estimate based on satellite imagery from the Copernicus program and published in the Greek media, approximately 45,000 dunams have already been damaged by the fires in southern Rethymno.