<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>More than 200 firefighters are struggling to tackle an out-of-control wildfire on Crete — Greece's largest island and a tourist hotspot — as authorities order mass evacuations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The fire broke out Wednesday afternoon near Ierapetra, a town on the island's southeast coast, amid unusually high temperatures, 3 to 5 degrees Celsius (5.4 to 9 Fahrenheit) above average, and gale-force winds of around 50 miles an hour.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The conditions are creating "new outbreaks, making firefighting work very difficult," the Fire Department's press spokesperson, Chief Vasilios Vathrakoyannis, said in a statement Thursday.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/mental-health-toowoomba-momentum-closure-public-health-network-funding/b8a8889b-63de-4dec-ac43-ab6bdc65d3a1" target="_blank"><strong><span>Fears for vulnerable Aussies as hub plan leaves mental health provider in limbo</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>More than 230 firefighters, along with 46 vehicles and 10 helicopters have been deployed to fight the blaze, according to fire officials.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The flames have spread rapidly, reaching homes as well as hotels and other tourist accommodations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Authorities asked residents of four settlements to evacuate and move toward Ierapetra. About 1,500 people have been evacuated so far, according to the Greek public broadcaster ERT.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/wildfires-are-tearing-through-a-popular-tourist-hotspot-in-greece-forcing-mass-evacuations/75869c3e-c354-4dcc-916f-2fddf8c21f6b" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Ierapetra municipality has converted an indoor training centre facility into a makeshift camp, where hundreds of tourists and residents who abandoned their homes spent the night Wednesday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The police, medical services and the coast guard have all been called to the area.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are entering the third and most difficult month of the fire season," Vathrakoyannis said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/woman-charged-over-alleged-cultural-blessings-scam/c012f687-b39e-4d89-af8c-7f60617278a2" target="_blank"><strong><span>Woman charged over alleged cultural blessings scam</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>July is typically the hottest month in Greece and is often accompanied by strong winds.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"These conditions favour the spread of fires and increase their danger," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Wildfires have ripped through other European countries this week as the continent endures a brutal heat wave.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tens of thousands were evacuated in Turkey as blazes ripped through the western Izmir and Manisa provinces and southern Hatay province, damaging nearly 200 homes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Blazes also broke out in France and in Spain, where two people died.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Europe experiences wildfires every year, but they are becoming more intense and frequent due to human-caused climate change, which fuels heat and drought, both helping set the stage for fierce, destructive fires.</span></div></div>