Photo by Heidi Fuller-Love. Retrieved from inews.co.uk
Between Rhodesairport and the castle-topped village of Archangelos, the road loops along in a blaze of colour and sound. Close to the village of Charaki, however, it is as if someone has flicked a switch. The birdsong, thrumming crickets and bright bougainvillea are replaced by silence amid a wasteland of ash and blackened tree stumps.
Last year wildfires, which lasted 10 seemingly endless days from 18 to 28 July, destroyed more than 15 per cent of Rhodes’ forests and more than 50 homes. The fires also prompted the largest evacuation Greecehas ever known, with 20,000 people – many of them British – rescued from Kiotari, Lardos, Lindos, and surrounding villages.
Lindian Village resort is one of the hotels that was close to the centre of last year’s conflagration. Its manager, Anestis Michaloudis, points out the charred hillsides just beyond the property. He shudders, remembering when he had to evacuate the hotel at noon on 22 July, 2023.
“We were in touch with the authorities but there were such strong winds – we couldn’t believe how fast the fire progressed. Evacuating our guests was difficult because people reacted so differently. We saw grown men in tears, whilst there were elderly people who were helping tirelessly,” he tells i.