In Greece, a large-scale fire broke out on the island of Rhodes, which destroyed the island for about a week and also forced the evacuation of thousands of tourists and local residents.
The fire threatened the well-being of Rhodes, as almost 90% of the local economy depends on tourism, which is why residents accuse the government of not doing enough to control the fire, reports the Guardian.
The fire occurred against the background of record high temperatures.
Residents of Rhodes said that they felt that the authorities reacted too slowly to the start of the fire. As a result, when the wind increased, the fire spread to populated areas and tourist areas that feed the local economy.
"The government did not respond to Rhodes immediately. The news showed us the fires only after the sixth day. Friends called TV channels and asked to show them. The fire did not stop here," said Anastasia Pissaka, a resident of Rhodes.
The article explained that Rhodes' income is based on the summer season, and if tourists do not return, then people will need government support.
Rhodes Municipality Vice Mayor and Spokesman Konstantinos Taraslias said many local residents were angry at the government's response.
"People think that the operation was not done very quickly, and they blame everyone – the politicians, the government, the region, the municipality. They think that they did not fight as much as possible, but believe me, this is not true, because it arrived many fire forces from both local and foreign countries," he said.
According to him, more than 300 firefighters and 10 airplanes and helicopters were involved. But the unprecedented nature of the fire, which engulfed tourist areas, and strong winds made extinguishing difficult. In addition, the mayor has already asked the court to investigate the causes of the fire, and also held a meeting with Greek ministers to discuss business support.
Taraslias added that there are 220,000 places in hotels on the island, of which 10,000 are in the area of the fire. Therefore, he urged tourists to return.
He stressed that the government plans to learn lessons from the bushfires, including better planning for extreme weather and fires, and supporting people to protect their property from fires.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in June in the USA, the air quality in the state of New York became one of the worst in the world due to large-scale forest fires in Canada.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, the first forest fire of 2023 broke out in the regions of Valencia and Aragon in Spain in March, burning more than 4,000 hectares of forest.
