In several areas, people were evacuated as a precautionary measure, institutions reported.
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The fire started at night in a landfill in the western part of the island and later spread south, burning shrubs and bushes, said Janis Artopijas, deputy press officer of the Greek fire service.
“The fire started in the landfill in the west and spread to the south of the island due to strong winds,” he told the public broadcaster ERT.
According to him, two planes and five helicopters, as well as about 100 firefighters, were deployed to control the fire.
As the flames raged overnight, authorities ordered a precautionary evacuation of people from several areas. According to local authorities, about 10 villages were evacuated as a precaution, although it is not yet clear how many residents and visitors were forced to leave their homes.
Local officials described last night as difficult but said conditions improved on Wednesday morning.
“Today the fire is not as intense, although there are still isolated hotspots, so we must remain vigilant,” said local official Vazeas Petropulas, responsible for Paros and the neighboring island of Antiparos.
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Paros, located in the Cyclades archipelago of the Aegean Sea, is one of Greece’s most popular tourist destinations, attracting many visitors each year along with nearby Santorini.
Greece faces devastating forest fires almost every summer, as prolonged droughts, high temperatures, and strong winds create ideal conditions for fires to spread especially quickly.
In recent days, dozens of other forest fires have broken out across the country, fueled by strong winds. However, firefighters have managed to control them before they caused casualties or major damage.
So far, Greece has largely avoided the extreme heat and catastrophic forest fires that have ravaged several other European countries this summer, including Spain and France.
Last week, due to a three-day heatwave, temperatures in some parts of the country rose as high as 43 degrees Celsius.
According to the Greek meteorological service, this was only the third time since 2011 that temperatures exceeded 40 degrees so late in the season. Similar events were recorded on July 20, 2015, and July 30, 2013.
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