The Rhodes wildfires have sparked the biggest Greek evacuation operation ever in response to a fire, Greek police told AFP Sunday.  

"We had to evacuate an area of 30,000 people," Konstantia Dimoglidou, Greek police spokeswoman said, adding everybody followed police order during the evacuation. "This is the biggest fire evacuation ever in Greece."

The fire has scorched swathes of forest and several buildings since breaking out in a mountainous area on Tuesday.

On Rhodes, the evacuees, including residents from the villages, were housed at hotels, indoor stadiums, conference centers and school buildings, according to local media. 

Civil protection in Greece has warned of a very high risk of wildfires on Sunday in almost half of the country, where temperatures were expected to hit 45 Celsius (113 Fahrenheit). 

Fires are common in Greece but hotter, drier and windy summers have brought more of them in recent years.

(With input from agencies)