Wildfires loom over Naples and Athens

Telegraph

a day ago

Homes have been destroyed and residents evacuated after wildfires tore through Greece and Italy.
An elderly man died in fires around Keratea, a town 27 miles south-east of Athens, with 260 firefighters deployed to tackle the blaze.
Dozens of people were forced to abandon their homes along with residents and staff at a care home in the nearby coastal resort of Palea Fokea.
Nearly 80 fire engines, 11 water bombers, and seven helicopters were used to subdue the fire that tore its way through 10,000 acres of brush and forest.
Dimitris Loukas, the mayor of the nearest city of Lavrio, said: 'Many homes were destroyed, in addition to other properties, agricultural and forest land.'
The National Observatory in Athens said the high winds will persist until at least Monday.
On Friday, gale-force winds caused the deaths of two Vietnamese tourists – a 61-year-old woman and 65-year-old man, – who fell into the sea at Sarakiniko beach on the Cycladic island of Milos, while tens of thousands of holidaymakers had their travel plans disrupted because of the turbulent sea conditions.
Wildfires also broke out on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius near Naples, where firefighters had to abandon their efforts to combat the blaze because of safety reasons, the president of the Vesuvius National Park said.
Raffaele De Luca said: 'We are following every update in constant contact with the relevant authorities. Our gratitude goes to those who are working tirelessly to protect our natural heritage and ensure the safety of those who live nearby.'
The towns nestled along the base of the active volcano, Ercolano and Torre del Greco, were shrouded in thick smoke, prompting evacuations and health warnings.
In Turkey, meteorologists recorded its hottest July in 55 years and wildfires forced the temporary closure of the Dardanelles Strait.
The highest-ever recorded temperature of 50.5 C was set in Silopi, a city in the Simak province around 10 kilometres from the Iraq and Syrian borders. It shattered the previous national high of 49.5 C recorded in August 2023 in the western province of Eskisehir.
Temperatures recorded in 66 of the country's 220 weather stations showed an average rise of 1.9 degrees over the preceding years.
Fourteen people died in July in the western part of the country.
Hundreds of others were evacuated on Friday in the north-west province of Canakkale, where the Dardanelles Strait was closed to maritime traffic due to two raging fires.
The heatwave has also prompted fears of water shortages in some areas. The resort town of Cesme on the Aegean Sea has restricted tap water for residents and tourists between 11:00 pm to 6:00 am since July 25.
In France, firefighters finally managed to contain the country's biggest wildfire in at least half a century.
The fire near the Mediterranean coast ravaged a vast area of the southern Aude department at the peak of the summer tourist season, killing one person and injuring several others.
'The fire is contained but ... until Sunday evening the fire will not be under control,' said Christophe Magny, chief of the region's firefighter unit.
Authorities warned that Sunday's forecasted hot, dry winds – similar to those when the fire began – and a heatwave alert, with temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius, would keep the some 1,400 firefighters mobilised on high alert.
'The firefighters will do their utmost before the return of the tramontane' this weekend, the president of the Aude departmental council, Hélène Sandragné, said referring to a northerly wind that regularly blows through the area.
The blaze – the largest in at least 50 years – tore through 16,000 hectares of vegetation, disaster officials said, revising an earlier estimate of 17,000 hectares.