Fire Burns Island
On the island of Evia, the second-largest of the Greek isles, a fire has already burned nearly 5,000 acres. The blaze continued to burn out of control as of Wednesday morning. Ten villages and settlements have been ordered to evacuate the island thus far, including tourists on the coastal town of Rovies and a monastery in Damia, which houses 12 monks who are reportedly refusing to leave to protect their monastery. Firefighters are reporting that several roads on the island are no longer passable.
“It’s a very difficult situation,” the monastery’s abbot told the state-run Athens-Macedonian News Agency. “The flames are 30 to 40 meters [98 to 131 feet] high inside the pine forest and have encircled the monastery. We’re choking on the smoke. It’s a nightmare.”
