With the fronts of the fire in progress and with the fire brigade fighting the flames, which in many places exceeded 5 meters in height and with strong winds blowing in the area, the preventive evacuation of the settlements threatened by the fiery blaze was completed during the night.

This is the largest operation to transport residents and tourists to safe places that has ever been carried out in the country, as according to the first estimates of the Police, a precautionary evacuation of around 19,000 people took place.

16,000 were transported by land and 3,000 by sea.

More specifically, according to data from the Dodecanese Police Department, the following settlements were evacuated as a precaution:

Kiotari, Gennadi, Pylonas, Laerma, Lardos, Lindos, Kalathos Malona, ​​Asklipieio, Pefkos, Massari, Haraki and also from hotels in these areas.

Many elderly people, mainly, but also people with special needs, were released with official police vehicles, while the largest number of citizens moved with tourist buses, boats of the Coast Guard and privately owned ships ordered by the LS.

In total, according to EKAV and the Ministry of Health of the Aegean Region, there were nine arrivals of people with respiratory problems to the health facilities who were given immediate first aid and left immediately afterwards. So far they have recorded only two admissions, a person with a fracture from a fall while evacuating a hotel and a 31-year-old pregnant woman in the maternity clinic who is in good health and being monitored.

For the areas affected by the fire, an order has been given by the tour operators that the charter flights arrive empty in order to pick up those visitors who want to leave the island, while a hot spot has been organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the airport of Rhodes so that there is a rapid processing of travel documents.

Early in the morning, a meeting of the government echelon was held with the South Aegean Region and the representatives of the agencies. According to the on-site records of the Fire Department in the village of Laerma, there were no disasters, except for some limited damage around the perimeter of the settlement to abandoned buildings, while a great effort is being made to save the settlement of Asklipieio.

3 more aircraft (a Canadair and 2 Air Tractors) will assist the firefighting effort. A total of 15 firefighting aircraft and helicopters and 2 coordination aerial vehicles operate on the island.