The island of Rhodes, in southeastern Greece, is one of many places across Europe to recently suffer a series of intense heat waves that has left the landscape tinder-dry. For more than a week, wildfires have raged across the island at the peak of its tourism season, forcing tens of thousands of people to seek shelter or board evacuation flights. Gathered here, images of the fires in Rhodes, and those battling the blazes—just a handful of the dozens of wildfires currently burning across North Africa and Southern Europe.
Devastating Wildfires on the Greek Island of Rhodes
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![A firefighter wearing a face mask holds a cat and two rabbits, while gesturing, standing on a road, with wildfire smoke in the background.]()
Read moreA fireman gestures and holds a cat and two rabbits after rescuing them from a fire between the villages of Kiotari and Gennadi, on the Greek island of Rhodes on July 24, 2023. #
Spyros Bakalis / AFP / Getty -
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![Thick smoke rises above a residential area.]()
Read moreThick smoke rises above a residential area on the island of Rhodes on July 27, 2023. #
Halil Kahraman / Dia images / Getty -
![A person stands in front of a hillside that is covered in flames.]()
Read moreA local citizen reacts as flames burn brush and trees in the village of Gennadi on July 25, 2023. #
Petros Giannakouris / AP -
![A helicopter drops water on a fire.]()
Read moreA helicopter drops water on a fire in the village of Gennadi on July 25, 2023. #
Spyros Bakalis / AFP / Getty -
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![A couple dozen people lie around on mattresses that have been laid out on a gymnasium floor.]()
Read moreTourists take shelter in a sports hall after being evacuated following a wildfire on the island of Rhodes on July 23, 2023. #
Fedja Grulovic / Reuters -
![A stand of trees goes up in flames.]()
Read moreFlames burn a forest in the village of Vati on July 25, 2023. #
Petros Giannakouris / AP -
![A view from a hillside village, looking out toward a wildfire burning in the distance.]()
Read moreA view from the village of Asklipieio of a wildfire burning nearby on July 26, 2023 #
Nicolas Economou / Reuters -
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![A passenger boat sits backed up to a beach, as a small crowd of tourists waits to board.]()
Read moreTourists are evacuated by sea as a wildfire approaches near Lindos, on the island of Rhodes, on July 22, 2023. #
Lefteris Diamandis / Reuters -
![An aerial view of a burned hilly area after a wildfire passed]()
Read moreAn aerial view shows a burned area after a wildfire passed near Vati on July 26, 2023. #
Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP / Getty -
![A deer walks on a charred hillside.]()
Read moreA fallow deer walks in a charred forest near Asklipeio after a fire, on July 25, 2023. #
Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP / Getty -
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![A helicopter flies close to the surface of the ocean, with a long cable hanging beneath it attached to a bucket that is being dipped into the water.]()
Read moreA helicopter lifts water from the sea to douse wildfires, close to the beach near the village of Gennadi on July 27, 2023. #
Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP / Getty -
![A person stands in front of a large wildfire burning on a hillside.]()
Read moreA man stands ready to fight flames as they engulf a hillside on July 27, 2023, in Apollana, Rhodes, Greece. #
Dan Kitwood / Getty -
![Tall flames and a smoke-filled sky are seen in a residential area on a hillside.]()
Read moreA wildfire rages in the village of Gennadi on July 25, 2023. #
Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP / Getty -
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![Two men sit inside the cab of a truck looking out the window.]()
Read moreVolunteers are seen inside a vehicle as a wildfire burns in the village of Vati on July 26, 2023. #
Nicolas Economou / Reuters -
![A small aircraft drops water onto a wildfire.]()
Read moreAn aircraft drops water onto flames on a hillside on July 27, 2023, in Apollana, Rhodes, Greece. #
Dan Kitwood / Getty -
![A tree trunk burns on a charred hillside.]()
Read moreFlames engulf a hillside on July 27, 2023, in Apollana, Rhodes, Greece. #
Dan Kitwood / Getty -
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![A firefighter carries a bundled hose in front of a wildfire burning bushes behind him.]()
Read moreA firefighter tackles a blaze outside the village of Vati on July 26, 2023. #
Dan Kitwood / Getty -
![A worker climbing on a utility pole repairs cables.]()
Read moreA worker climbing on a utility pole repairs cables after a wildfire near the village of Gennadi on July 26, 2023. #
Petros Giannakouris / AP -
![Several people cooperate to carry buckets of water out onto a burning hillside.]()
Read moreGerman tourists work with local residents try to extinguish a fire near the seaside resort of Lindos, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, on July 24, 2023. #
Petros Giannakouris / AP -
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![People look at a firefighting helicopter as it fills up with water from a swimming pool.]()
Read morePeople look at a firefighting helicopter as it fills up with water from a swimming pool, as a wildfire burns in the village of Gennadi on July 25, 2023. #
Nicolas Economou / Reuters
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