Authorities have declared a state of emergency on the island of Chios after a forest fire fanned by high winds threatened homes overnight.
The Fire Service and local officials said elderly residents in several villages in the southwest of the island had been moved out of their homes in a precautionary evacuation after the fire broke out before dawn Monday.
Six fire-fighting helicopters were operating in the area, but strong winds kept planes grounded. The blaze is affecting areas associated with producing the local delicacy of ‘mastiha’ (mastic gum).
The governor of the Northern Aegean region, Christiana Kalogirou, called for several villages on the island to be declared to be in a state of emergency.
