(Bloomberg) -- A wildfire broke out on Saturday in the area of Lasithi, at the southeast of the Greek island of Crete, with authorities ordering the evacuation of settlements. 

It’s the first major blaze for Greece for 2024, starting weeks ahead of the fire-watch season that typically runs from May to October. The country is experiencing drier and warmer than normal spring conditions, with high temperatures already exceeding 30C (86F) on some days in the past week. 

Strong winds are hampering the efforts of firefighters on the ground, while authorities are also using helicopters to control the blaze. The fire started in a forest area near the village of Mavros Kolymbos and it has already caused damages to homes there, according to local media. 

A man has also been hospitalized as he suffered burns while he was trying to protect his property, according to the reports.  

Greece in 2023 suffered its most destructive wildfires in at least 16 years, with almost 675 square miles of forest, or 1.3% of the country’s total land area, having been burned. That compares with an average of 168 square miles a year for the period between 2006 and 2022, according to the European Union’s European Forest Fire Information System. 

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pledged in August to boost the country’s technological toolkit for wildfire prevention. 

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