A devastating wildfire on Greek Dodecanese island of Rhodes, in the southeastern Aegean, which was raging on Sunday for the sixth day, destroying a major expanse of the island's forest, was reported as having been contained on Sunday night.
Athens News Agency reported that firefighters, who were continuing the battle with the blazes undiminished, were optimistic of bringing the blaze under control, as the two major fire fronts have already been practically contained, and it was hoped that the fire would be brought under full control by evening.
The massive firefighting force was being assisted by hundreds of volunteers from all over the island.
Authorities said that careful monitoring was necessary throughout the entire region to look out for rekindling, due to strong winds in the area.
The blaze, which broke out last Tuesday, has burned an estimated 40,000 stemma of forest and brush, and fears have been voiced of immense damage to the island's ecosystem.
The Laermon forest, which has been almost completely destroyed by the fire, is the main habitat of one of the last surviving populations of the famed Rhodian deer -- a smaller species of the European fallow deer -- whose population had marked an increase in recent years.
Tourists were evacuated from several hotels in southern Rhodes on Saturday for precautionary reasons, and were relocated to other hotels on the island on Saturday, while many returned to their hotels on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a forest fire broke out in Evia, an island on the eastern side of Athens, shortly before noon on Sunday, and was also reported as having been contained on Sunday night.
Due to the dried weather, Greece suffered from fires in the summer time. Last year big fires broke out in Peloponnese which caused at least 65 people dead and hundreds of people homeless.
Source:Xinhua
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