Greece battles wildfires as heatwave intensifies

ATHENS, July 4 (Reuters) - Gale force wind gusts complicated efforts on Friday to contain wildfires on Crete that have razed forests and olive groves and forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate.

Crete, and Greece as a whole, is still safe to visit, though travelers heading there in the summer should take precaution to monitor local weather and news reports, and follow local emergency alerts should they need to evacuate an area where there is a wildfire.