Greek wildfires: Edinburgh woman in Rhodes tells of her worry over bar she opened there just two weeks ago

Bar owner from Stockbridge joins locals to help tackle ‘uncontrollable’ fires on island

A woman from Edinburgh who owns a bar on Rhodes has told of her "worry" after opening the business just a few weeks before wildfires hit the Greek island.

Sarah George, 39, originally from Stockbridge, opened La Presidenta in Lindos with her partner Dimitris Savvaidis in mid-July after "a lot of setbacks". After wildfires hit, the couple were forced to close the bar for two days and could see and smell smoke from where they are located.

She told the PA news agency: "Things were going beautifully and now this has all happened, we've been open two weeks so we're already behind schedule in the holiday season, which begins around Easter time. It was already going to be a tight season, we were going to have to work hard to make up some of the money we spent opening. So obviously this is less than ideal, it's a worry about what's going to happen in the years to come."

Sarah George, 39, originally from Stockbridge, and her partner Dimitris Savvaidis who opened a bar on Rhodes In mid-July. Picture: Sarah George/PA Wire

The bar was "busy" after it reopened on Monday evening despite a power cut, with British holidaymakers staying in the seaside town among the customers. Ms George went on: "From the bar, you'd actually have to drive quite far inland to see any of the flames. Yesterday when it was a bit windier, you could see a lot of the smoke and ash, you could smell it."

Some villages have been affected "really badly", although Lindos has mostly avoided the worst of the flames, she said. On Saturday, Ms George and her partner joined locals who have been "fighting day and night" to tackle the blazes.

She added: "The fires have just been uncontrollable with the wind, we were metres away from fires which have just been engulfing trees. A bird or an animal could catch fire and it's horrific, that will cause it to spread and cause independent fires. The other day we rushed with water to trees and cut them down to make sure it stops the spread.

"Many of the locals are right in the face of the fire, some of the flames are dangerously close to houses. They're breathing in the smoke, people can't see when they're in the smoke for hours."