In his statements, the Minister of Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias, after his arrival in Rethymnon, in the area of ​​the fire and the briefing he had in the field, emphasized:

“For two days now, the men and women of the Fire Brigade, the volunteers, but also both levels of local government, mayors, presidents of communities and villages, together with ordinary people, the police and the army are fighting a very big battle.

Today I came to the area with another 50 forest commanders, now we exceed 250 people, 50 vehicles and 23 aerial vehicles, together with two coordinators. I am pleased to see that for the second time there is no active front, but we must all work together, and we will organize this now, so that we do not find ourselves in a difficult position tomorrow if the winds and Beaufort come again. We have to work very hard tonight and tomorrow because all the aerials will remain and we will have the drops, wets, circles, hopefully a good result.

In each case no one is going to leave here if we don’t do our job first.”

Regarding the issue of compensations, because the Minister of Civil Protection was asked, he replied “As far as compensation issues are concerned, I am already on the open line with Mr. Triandopoulos, who also has the authority. All people affected will be supported in the best possible way, but at the moment the priority is to get a result on the fire front.”

At this time, a meeting is underway for the planning and organization of dealing with the fire between the Minister of Civil Protection, the Regional Governor of Crete, the mayor of the region and civil protection officials.