Wildfires kill three across southern Europe, force thousands to evacuate
In Albania, soldiers, firefighters, and volunteers, supported by helicopters and an Italian Canadair fire jet, battled to contain separate fronts in the Sopot area between Delvina and Gjirokastra on Thursday after blazes raging for days damaged dozens of homes and charred agricultural land.
Prime minister Edi Rama said on Thursday 137 arsonists have been identified since June and several were being arrested.
Clirim Conku, a 61-year-old farmer in southern Albania, lost vineyards, olive groves and all his livestock in a wildfire, but was relieved he and his faithful dog survived.
'I was using everything to keep the flames out. To fight the smoke a napkin saved my life. I put some water on it but it stayed wet more with sweat,' he said.
Others were bitter that a lifetime of work was gone in minutes.
Restaurant owner Dimitris Daskas, 57, whose business was close to Patras, broke his arm while trying to save his property and was left without water or power as the flames approached.
He told Reuters: 'My wife was calling (emergency services) to say we are on fire. They didn't pick up.'
Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald
3 days ago
- The Herald
Wildfires kill three across southern Europe, force thousands to evacuate
In Portugal, nearly 1,000 firefighters battled a blaze near the scenic mountain village of Piodao. Crews managed to bring under control a wildfire burning for 11 days, the longest this season, in the mountainous area of Vila Real in the north. In Albania, soldiers, firefighters, and volunteers, supported by helicopters and an Italian Canadair fire jet, battled to contain separate fronts in the Sopot area between Delvina and Gjirokastra on Thursday after blazes raging for days damaged dozens of homes and charred agricultural land. Prime minister Edi Rama said on Thursday 137 arsonists have been identified since June and several were being arrested. Clirim Conku, a 61-year-old farmer in southern Albania, lost vineyards, olive groves and all his livestock in a wildfire, but was relieved he and his faithful dog survived. 'I was using everything to keep the flames out. To fight the smoke a napkin saved my life. I put some water on it but it stayed wet more with sweat,' he said. Others were bitter that a lifetime of work was gone in minutes. Restaurant owner Dimitris Daskas, 57, whose business was close to Patras, broke his arm while trying to save his property and was left without water or power as the flames approached. He told Reuters: 'My wife was calling (emergency services) to say we are on fire. They didn't pick up.' Reuters
The Herald
6 days ago
- The Herald
Türkiye battles wildfire in northwest for second day after evacuations
Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Türkiye on Tuesday, with a large blaze in the northwestern province of Canakkale burning for a second day after hundreds of residents were evacuated in precaution. Both Canakkale airport and the Dardanelles Strait, which connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara, were temporarily shut due to the wildfires on Monday. Wildfires in Canakkale's Ezine and Ayvacik districts were largely brought under control, but blazes in the city centre in the southern part of the Dardanelles Strait were still burning, agriculture & forestry minister Ibrahim Yumakli said in a post on X. Seven planes and six helicopters were tackling the blaze on Tuesday, Canakkale governor Omer Toraman said in a post on X, adding there was no immediate danger to residential areas.
The Herald
29-07-2025
- The Herald
Firefighters battle blazes in Turkey, Greece and Albania
Firefighters battled on Monday to put out wildfires in three provinces in Turkey, in Greece and near a tourist resort in Albania, stoked by strong winds after days of searing heat across the Mediterranean region. Smoke billowed over the mountainous Black Sea province of Karabuk, 200km north of the capital Ankara, as a wildfire which raged for a sixth day forced the evacuation of more than a dozen villages and burnt swathes of forests. In the northwestern province of Bursa, three firefighters were killed on Sunday when their vehicle crashed, Turkey's forestry ministry said on Monday. Crews fought two separate blazes there on Monday after the evacuation of more than 3,600 people from settlements in the southern provinces of Mersin and Antalya. Turkey has suffered dozens of wildfires in recent weeks as temperatures have soared, and 10 firefighters were killed last week battling a blaze in the central Eskisehir province. Hot and dry summers are common in the Mediterranean region, but more intense heatwaves have contributed to destructive wildfires in recent years amid fast-rising temperatures across the globe. At least 44 wildfires broke out in Greece in the past 24-hours, the fire brigade said on Monday afternoon. On the southern Greek island of Kythera, strong winds rekindled a blaze burning since Saturday. In Athens, firefighters quickly contained a fire that broke out at the foot of Mount Hymettus, near a university campus and densely populated suburbs. In Albania, more than 900 firefighters assisted by the army battled to control a wildfire before it reached the seaside city of Saranda and other tourist resorts in the south of the country on the Ionian coast. At least 13 people have been arrested for arson-related offences in the past three days, police said. Bulgaria, assisted by several European countries, deployed firefighting planes to help tame a large wildfire near the Bulgarian-Turkish border. So far the flames have scorched about 16,000 acres. Two people have been detained by authorities investigating the cause of the fires, according to local media. Over the weekend, several villages in Greece were evacuated and five people were injured in separate wildfires. As Greece saw off its third summer heatwave on Monday, rainy weather in Serbia helped firefighters there bring more than 100 wildfires under control. Reuters
