The forest fire on the Greek island of Rhodes, which forced the evacuation of 19,000 people, still out of control this Tuesday for the eighth consecutive day, while hundreds of firefighters fight to control the fire also on the islands of Corfu and Euboea.

In weather conditions that are expected to be adverse, with high temperatures and strong windsSome 270 firefighters are participating in the arduous attempts to contain the flames in Rhodes, which have already burned more than 14,000 hectares of forest and several houses, in addition to killing an as yet unquantified number of animals.

With the first light of day they began to operate two seaplanes and two helicopter tankers. Some 20 additional firefighters with 20 vehicles are expected to arrive on the island in the next few hours to help with operations, private SKAI television reported.

After this great fire was declared eight days ago, some 19,000 people, including 7,000 tourists, had to be transferred to safe places in Rhodes, in what has been largest evacuation operation recorded so far in the history of Greece, according to information provided by the country’s fire brigade.

The flames are still burning in a vast area that includes the center and the south of the island, near the eastern coast. Hundreds of troops and volunteers fought through the night to prevent the flames from reaching the town of Malonas and the coastal town of Kalathos.

Meanwhile, the media reports that another large forest fire has reignited on the northwestern island of Corfu, which is keeping firefighters busy for the third day in a row. The flames reignited this Tuesday and threaten the town of Lutses, on Mount Pantokrator (north of the island).

This fire led the authorities to evacuate at dawn on Monday, as a precautionary measure, about 2,500 tourists from coastal towns in the northeast of Corfu. However, they were later able to return to their places of accommodation after the flames were contained, which to date are burning in the mountains, without threatening the tourist facilities on the coast.

Also on the island of Euboea, northeast of Athens, more than a hundred firefighters were still fighting another fire today that continues for the third consecutive day out of control around the coastal town of Karisto. According to local authorities, one person has been missing since last Sunday in this area, where the flames forced the evacuation of nine towns and reached the town of Platanistós and Potami, burning several houses.

Tens of other lesser range spotlights spread throughout the Hellenic territory keeps firefighters busy throughout the country and raises the alert for fires, caused by unusually high temperatures, drought and strong gusts of wind.

To fight the fires, Greece has received help from France, Italy, Croatia, Romania, Poland, Egypt, Israel, Turkey and Slovakia. In the midst of a multi-day wave of extreme heat, the thermometers marked 46.4 degrees on Sunday in the city of Gitio, in the Peloponnese, the highest temperature ever recorded in the Hellenic country.

According to the National Meteorological Service, the heatwave will continue until Thursday, when a significant drop in temperatures is expected (between 5 and 7 degrees).