Hundreds of tourists fled by boat from beaches in northern Greece on Thursday as a forest fire tore through the Halkidiki peninsula south of Thessaloniki, cutting off escape routes by land and forcing families in bathing costumes to queue on pontoons as smoke darkened the sky. The evacuation by sea became necessary because flames reached the shoreline, a fire service spokesman said.
More than 250 tourists, many carrying children in their arms, were evacuated in 15 small boats brought into emergency service, ERT public television reported. The blaze threatened homes around the popular resorts of Siviri and Fourka, which were packed with summer visitors. Dozens waited on a pontoon at Fourka to flee as traffic jams formed on roads out of both resorts. Sophia, a homeowner in the region who gave only her first name, told AFP by phone: "We are on the beach and looking for a way to get away." She added: "From where we are, we can see that flames have reached the town and the houses."
A Wall of Fire
ERT reported that a three-kilometre-long wall of flames up to 30 metres high was closing in on the resorts. Almost 150 firefighters battled the blaze alongside water bombing planes and helicopters, but strong winds made the fight difficult. Two injured firefighters were taken to hospital. The region is dominated by flammable pine forests, and Greek authorities had issued a maximum five alert for fires across much of the Greek mainland. Halkidiki authorities had banned the public from entering the region's pine forests before the fire erupted.
Weather forecasters predicted winds of up to 100 kilometres, or 60 miles, an hour on Friday. Greece's civil protection agency sent evacuation warnings by phone to people in the two resorts. Within hours of erupting, the fire spread across the Halkidiki peninsula, threatening not just tourists but the livelihoods of local communities dependent on summer tourism.
A Summer of Fires
The authorities said 40 forest fires were reported across Greece in 24 hours and that nine were still not controlled by late Thursday. The Halkidiki evacuation came the same month as a forest fire near Athens that killed two crew members when their helicopter collided with another aircraft in mid-air while battling the blaze. That fire destroyed 110 square kilometres of forest.
The repeated evacuations and mounting death toll underscore the strain on Greece's firefighting capacity as the climate crisis intensifies summer fire seasons. The country's emergency services are stretched thin, and local communities β many of them rural and economically vulnerable β face the prospect of recurring disasters that threaten homes, forests, and the tourism industry that sustains them.
Why This Matters:
The Halkidiki evacuation is the latest sign that southern Europe's summer fire season is becoming a permanent emergency. Greece's firefighting resources are under severe pressure, and the human cost β from injured firefighters to families fleeing beaches β is mounting. The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat but a present reality for communities across the Mediterranean. Without significant investment in fire prevention, early warning systems, and climate adaptation, these scenes will repeat every summer. The EU's Green Deal must prioritize not just emissions reductions but also the resilience of frontline communities facing extreme weather. Greece cannot shoulder this burden alone.