Thousands flee Greek island as wildfires raze forest and homes

Firefighters tackle blazes on two fronts on Evia as heatwave-driven devastation across southern Europe continues

Thousands of people have fled wildfires that are destroying vast swathes of pine forest and razing homes on Greece's second-largest island, Evia, as devastating summer blazes rage from southern Europe to Siberia.

We have ahead of us another difficult evening, another difficult night," Greece's deputy civil protection minister, Nikos Hardalias, said on Sunday, adding that nearly a week after the blazes started, strong winds were driving two major fire fronts in the north and south of the island.