Newmarket family describes holiday chaos in Rhodes as wildfires spread across Greek island

A family from Suffolk on holiday in Rhodes locked themselves in their hotel room as wildfires spread across the Greek island.

Katie Piercefield-Holmes and her family, from Newmarket, decided to lock themselves in the Princess Andriana hotel in Kiotari.

On Saturday, the hotel was evacuated but Katie and her husband Brett, their two children aged seven and 11, and Brett’s parents did not leave the hotel because they felt it wasn’t safe to do so.

Katie said: “We decided not to go as there was so much smoke and lots of people, we felt it would’ve been to dangerous to be in that environment

“Our block was away from the fire so we locked ourselves in the room and now we’re being told to stay where we are.

“When we left the hotel yesterday, you could see all the hillside was completely burnt and buildings destroyed, it's a bit of a ghost town really. So now we’re just waiting.

While Europe deals with a heatwave, flights to Rhodes have been cancelled and tourists have been left in limbo, with thousands forced to flee hotels and be evacuated by land and sea.

Wildfires have also broke out on the islands of Evia and Corfu as firefighters struggle to the blazes which have sparked Greece’s largest wildfire evacuation to date.

In Rhodes, the Piercefield-Holmes family landed on the Greek island on Thursday and have been told they’ll be flying home as scheduled back to the UK on Saturday but are unsure about their chances as they have not received much information from their tour operators Jet2.

Katie and the rest of her family have watched fire trucks go back and forth as the island battles the wildfires that have been fanned by strong winds since Tuesday and they are all feeling worried and concerned.

“There’s just been another evacuation notice telling people to come to the town that we’re in from the neighbouring town but we don’t really know what’s going on to be honest at the moment.

“It is a bit stressful and right this second, I’m really quite anxious to be honest because of the unknown of what’s happening.

“We’re taking some solace that people are being evacuated here but it’s just an ever-changing situation, the kids are going a bit crazy and we’re just sitting around reading and trying to see what's happening.”

Katie said the hotel staff have been ‘amazing’ and have provided fruit, bread, cheese and yoghurts as well as water.

“I don’t think we want to leave the hotel at all to be honest, we’re just trying to stay out of the way and let people do what they need to do,” Katie said.

“We are just going to keep finding out what we can and hopefully it just stays safe here.”

Have you been impacted by the wildfires in Europe at all? If so, get in touch by sending an email to cameron.reid@iliffepublishing.co.uk