More than 1,000 people evacuated from Greek fires

More than 2,000 people were evacuated from homes and hotels Saturday as a fast-moving wildfire swept across the Greek island of Rhodes.

Although the fire had been burning for several days, it was confined to the island’s interior until strong winds and intense heat swept the flames toward the coast, The Guardian reported.

Hundreds of people were stuck on a beach Saturday waiting to be evacuated as a fleet of Greek coast guard boats and private vessels, the BBC reported.

More than 200 firefighters and 40 fire engines were dispatched to the island from as far away as Slovakia to help extinguish the fires.

Greek navy vessels were also on their way in what firefighters called the worst fires they had seen in the region. No injuries were reported, according to the Greek Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection.

“The situation in Rhodes is extremely difficult,” said a Facebook post from the Slovak Fire and Rescue Services. “Due to the strong wind and quickly changing direction of the fire, firefighters had to withdraw and move.”

One British woman said she was evacuated from the hotel she was staying at with her sister and daughter, but was stuck on a beach with hundreds of people awaiting rescue.

“There’s just a small shack here and there’s so many of us,” Becky Mulligan told the BBC. “There’s children, it’s the middle of the day, we are just stuck here with no help. It’s disgusting.”