2 major wildfire fronts as of Friday; on Rhodes, NW Peloponnese

A total of 96 wildfires were reported as active in Greece on Friday, with 51 erupting over the last 24 hours, according to the fire brigade. Of the new blazes, most were quickly extinguished before spreading.

Meanwhile, in terms of a handful of major wildfires bedeviling the southern half of the country, the fire brigade said all but two fronts have subsided. A massive wildfire on the south-central part of the Dodecanese island of Rhodes, which has raged for more than a week, and a blaze in the northwest of the Peloponnese, in the low mountains above the coastal city of Egio, were still active.

A major fire-fighting effort was also underway in the extreme north of the Ionian island of Corfu to prevent a rekindling of a wildfire there.

More than 600 wildfires of varying size and intensity have been recorded in the second half of July, which coincided with the first heat wave of the season, of which 10 blazes were designated as very serious.