Firefighters battle blaze on Greek island of Kos for second day

More than 100 responders, assisted by helicopter, are still tackling wildfire to stop it flaring up again

Firefighters battled a blaze on the Greek island of Kos for a second day on Tuesday, as hundreds of tourists and locals who were evacuated from the path of the fire overnight returned to their hotels and homes.

People took refuge in a sports centre and other venues as the wildfire reached the seaside village of Kardamaina overnight, Christos Efstratiou, deputy governor for the Dodecanese islands, told Reuters.

No buildings were damaged and people were able to return on Tuesday morning after the fire abated, Mr Efstratiou said.

Video footage showed tourists waiting in the morning to board buses that would take them back to hotels and rented homes.

Wildfires are common in Greece, but hotter, drier and windier weather that scientists link to the effects of climate change has increased their frequency and intensity.

More than 100 firefighters, assisted by a helicopter, were still tackling the blaze on Kos, to stop it flaring up again, the fire brigade said.

The fire on the Greek island of Kos on July 1, in a screen grab from a video on social media. Reuters

On the nearby island of Chios, more than 170 firefighters assisted by 36 engines and 10 aircraft were trying to tame another fire that broke out on Monday afternoon.

"The situation appears improved on both fronts," a fire brigade official said, referring to both blazes.

Emergency crews assisted by water-carrying planes also fought a wildfire on the island of Crete on Tuesday.

Smoke rises from a fire around the island of Kos, in Greece, on July 1, in a screen grab from a video on social media. Reuters

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned this week of a dangerous summer of wildfires after a long drought and unusually high gusts of wind.

Last year, forest fires killed 20 people in the north of the country and forced 19,000 people to flee the island of Rhodes.

Since then, the country has been increasingly using drones to find blazes early.

It now plans to increase its drone fleet to 35 systems and trained drone operators to 139 from 104.