The forest fire on the island of Rhodes that broke out on Tuesday is still raging on Saturday, even after an overnight Friday battle against the flames, Fire Brigade spokesperson Lt. Colonel Yiannis Artopios told Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA).

Although the Fire Department had managed to put out several rekindled blazes on the island over the last few days, the wildfire near the village of Laerma in the island's north keeps expanding and moving eastwards to the Gadoura dam, while residents in the villages of Lardos and Pilonas were told to evacuated their homes on the day, via the emergency number 112. The 300 people in Laerma village had been safely evacuated on Friday night, he noted.

Two hotel complexes in the area of Kiotari were evacuated later afternoon Saturday, while residents in the broader Kiotari area were also evacuated, as were people in the settlement of Asklipios via 112.

Additionally, in order to transport tourists away from the Kiotari fires to a safe spot at Kalathos beach, the Rhodes Port Authority on Saturday requisitioned all tourist boats that dock in Mandraki, while all the scheduled boat routes of the Municipal Transport Company RODA were cancelled, as its fleet would head to south Rhodes to pick up tourists and residents.

Power supply was also a problem on the biggest part of the island on Saturday, as the operation of the Public Power Company's plant in south Rhodes was paused as a precaution.

Some 173 firefighters with 35 fire engines and 10 ground teams are battling the blaze, assisted by 3 water bombers and 2 helicopters. Another 31 firefighters with 4 fire engines and 3 ground teams were also expected to arrive from Slovakia. Local authority water tanks are also helping out.

Fire fronts in West Attica and also in Lakonia, southeast Peloponnese, have all subsided, Artopios noted, but strong firefighting forces remain there against potential rekindling.

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