A British family holidaying in Corfu was forced to flee their villa with only 10 minutes to gather their passports and belongings as a fast-moving wildfire swept through the hillsides near Kassiopi. Rebecca Bell, her husband Mat, one daughter, and her daughter's friend were staying in the village of Sinies when an emergency alert warned of nearby wildfires.
Emergency Alert Ignored Initially
Rebecca recalled that everyone's phones suddenly went off with a strange warning sound—a government alert reporting wildfires in the area. At first, there seemed little cause for concern as they could neither see nor smell smoke. Unsure what to do, they decided to drive to a fishing village for dinner, hoping to see more from a distance.
In the village, a restaurant owner told them not to worry, saying it happens every year. But a waiter showed them videos from his own village nearby, which looked quite scary. Despite the warning, the family continued with dinner.
Dramatic Discovery on the Road
After dinner, Rebecca and her husband drove back toward the villa. As they rounded a corner leaving the fishing village, they saw the fires on the hillside, now very close to their villa. They were stopped by a police and fire engine roadblock. Realizing their passports and all belongings were still inside, they pleaded with officers. Because the flames were still roughly 400 metres away, emergency services allowed them just 10 minutes to pack up and leave.
Rebecca said: "We drove up and we reached a fire engine and police saying you can't go up any further. We told them that we've got all our stuff in there including our passports and they said can we get access for 10 minutes, pack up the house and then go and they allowed us to do that because it was a few hundred meters away from where our villa was."
Kindness of Strangers
The family followed instructions to go to Kassiopi and wait at a local school, but found nothing open or properly set up. All hotel rooms were booked. Facing a sweltering night in their rental car, Rebecca's husband spoke to a woman walking down the road who happened to be English but living on the island. She immediately offered help, and her brother-in-law, a restaurateur with a large house, agreed to take them in. Several of his staff also stayed there that night.
After just a couple of hours' sleep, the family awoke at 5am to helicopters thundering overhead. Firefighters gradually brought the blaze under control, and the family were allowed back later that day. The villa escaped damage, but thousands of holidaymakers across the island were affected.
Lessons Learned
Rebecca said: "It was incredibly crazy, it was just a crazy few hours of no sleep, sleeping on a stranger's sofa just wondering whether or not our villa was going to be burned to the ground." She admitted she did not initially take the emergency warning seriously enough: "If I got that alert again, I would absolutely pay attention straight away." Despite the ordeal, the family has returned to Corfu every year since, but now thinks more carefully about where they stay and ensures they always have transport.
Broader Impact of Extreme Heat
The extreme heat across Europe over recent summers is affecting holiday planning. According to research from InsureandGo, 26% of UK adults think Greece will become too hot to visit in the next five years, along with Turkey (26%) and Spain (24%). Nationally, 68% of UK adults believe some popular holiday destinations may be underwater by 2050 due to rising sea levels, with Venice (29%), The Maldives (24%), and Florida Keys (16%) topping the list.
Despite the risks, 75% of UK adults are still planning a holiday abroad this year. However, 51% say climate factors will cause them to consider changes to holiday plans in the next few years, such as visiting cooler countries or traveling in spring or autumn. Garry Nelson, Head of Corporate Affairs at InsureandGo, said: "While successive summers of extreme heat and wildfires have presented challenges for many, our research suggests many people are adapting to the new normal of sizzling summers across Europe."
