Overview
- Civil Protection Minister Yiannis Kefalogiannis declared the state of emergency to enable urgent municipal measures
- Five separate fire fronts are advancing across Chios under six-Beaufort-scale winds
- About 190 firefighters supported by 38 vehicles, 13 helicopters and four water bombers are deployed on the island
- Dozens of villages and a migrant reception center have been evacuated as flames encroach on communities
- Authorities warn that fires threaten the island’s mastic groves while a heatwave with temperatures above 40°C is forecast