Meanwhile, more than 2,000 tourists are being evacuated from hotels.

Police said the measure was being taken as a precaution and would affect hotels on the south of the island.

Strong winds hampered efforts to fight the fires that are believed to have burned thousands of acres of land, although none of the island's major tourist areas or hotels were under threat.

The fire department said it could not give a complete tally of the damage while the fire was still burning.

Municipal officials said the Rhodes fire was within 50 yards of homes at the village of Laerma.

In southern Greece, a fire forced the closure of a busy highway linking Athens to the western port of Patras, police said. Rail services between the two cities were also suspended.

Eight water-dropping planes, including two from Italy, and eight helicopters are tackling the blaze which started on Rhodes on Tuesday, the fire department said.

Cyprus was sending one more helicopter and two planes from France were expected on the island where authorities declared a disaster on Wednesday.

Last year, devastating forest fires killed more than 70 people and destroyed large swathes of southern Greece.