: Wildfires Blamed on Climate Change Are Devastating Greece #WorldNEWS PEFKI, Greece — Pillars of billowing smoke and ash turned the sky orange and blocked out the sun above Greeces second-largest

Wildfires Blamed on Climate Change Are Devastating Greece #WorldNEWS
PEFKI, Greece — Pillars of billowing smoke and ash turned the sky orange and blocked out the sun above Greeces second-largest island Sunday as a days-old wildfire devoured pristine forests and encroached on villages, triggering more evacuation alerts.
The fire on Evia, an island of forested mountains and canyons laced with small coves of crystalline water, began Aug. 3 and cut across the popular summer destination from coast to coast as it burned out of control. Scores of homes and businesses have been destroyed and thousands of residents and tourists have fled, many escaping the flames via flotillas that even operated in the dark of night.
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The blaze is the most severe of dozens that broke out in the wake of Greeces most protracted heat wave in three decades, which sent temperatures soaring to 45 degrees Celsius (113 F) for days, creating bone-dry conditions.
“It’s already too late, the area has been destroyed,” Giannis Kontzias, mayor of the northern Evia municipality of Istiaia, lamented on Greece’s Open TV. He was one of several local officials and residents who took to Greek TV networks to appeal for more firefighting help, particularly from water-dropping planes and helicopters.
Evacuation orders were issued Sunday for four villages in northern Evia, including Pefki, but many residents refused to leave, hoping to save their properties.
In dramatic scenes Sunday afternoon, fast-moving flames had encroached on the seaside village of Pefki, burning trees on the fringes and entering the houses’ yards. Panicked residents raced with water tanks, hoses and branches in a seemingly futile effort to extinguish the flames.
Late Sunday, firefighters managed to stop the fire before it advanced further into Pefki, on the island’s northern coast. Pefki residents and tourists fled to the port of Aidipsos to take the ferry to the mainland port of Arkitsa, 150 kilometers northwest of Athens.
Acrid, choking smoke hung in the orange-grey air, turning the day into an apocalyptic twilight as people headed towards Pefkis pebble beach, dragging suitcases, clutching pets and helping elderly relatives.
The ferry, carrying panicked, exhausted evacuees who had boarded the vessel before the advance of the fire was halted, arrived at Arkitsa on Sunday evening. Passengers complained they had been left to fend for themselves as the fire approched.
We were completely forsaken. There were no fire brigades, there were no vehicles, nothing! David Angelou told The Associated Press, adding that the villagers hoses were inadequate to stop the fire.
Angelou described the frightening hours before the evacuation.