“The devastating fire that broke out at noon on Wednesday in Amari was contained and brought under control, but the image it left behind is heartbreaking,” according to the head of Civil Protection of the Rethymno Regional Unit, Michalis Sarris.

The fire caused enormous damage in the area, with burnt areas, damaged networks and serious damage to natural and livestock resources. Despite the superhuman efforts of the fire brigade, Civil Protection, the Municipalities of Amari and Agios Vassiliou, volunteers, residents and many others who helped in their own way, the fire destroyed important resources and properties. Mr. Sarris thanked all those who were and are still in the affected areas of the Municipality of Amari and emphasized that “the image of the area after the fire is sad, and it will take time and a coordinated effort to restore it. A plan for the reconstruction of Amario will be needed and we all need to join forces and fight for it.”

The general secretary of Civil Protection, Vassilis Papageorgiou, proceeded today to issue a new decision by which the Municipal Communities of Nitauri (Nitauri – Vathiako) and Platanou are declared to be in a state of civil protection emergency. This decision was taken following a new request submitted on Friday by the mayor of Amari, Pantelis Mourtzanos, after the development of the fire front in order to immediately deal with the emergency needs and manage the consequences of the fires that hit the areas in question. According to the decision of Mr. Papageorgiou, the state of emergency will be valid from the date of occurrence of the phenomena until September 9, 2024. The municipal communities of Agia Paraskevi have already been declared in a state of civil protection emergency with a previous decision of the General Secretariat of Civil Protection , Agios Ioannis, Ano Meros (Ano Meros – Chordaki) and Apodoulou (Sata – Rizikas – Madres).

According to an update of APE-MPE from the Coordination Office, at this time the fire on the fronts of Amario is in complete remission, however, guarding forces remain in case of any rekindling given that a strong wind is blowing. Regarding all the firefighting forces, some of them have been partially withdrawn due to the level of danger 5 that applies to all of Crete, so these forces are also on alert in other places for any immediate intervention throughout the island.

In the meantime, a fire in an apartment in the center of Rethymnon mobilized the emergency services at noon and the firefighters immediately arrived to put out the fire, which left behind minor material damage.