Thousands evacuated, as fires continue to rage across southern Europe

SBS Australia

3 days ago

Giorgios Mavros picks his way through rubble and charred debris in what remains of his home in Volissos, on the northern Aegean island of Chios, in Greece. The 60-year old's house was burned in fires which started on Tuesday, then quickly spread across more than 30 kilometres, burning forests, farmland, vehicles and homes, and forcing evacuations across multiple villages. Standing in the rubble of the home built by his father in 1982, Mr Mavros says he can't imagine starting over at his age. (Greek then English vo) "What am I supposed to do? Build a home from scratch? I am 60 years old, with two kids in university. My daughter is studying in Volos, she left to come to Volissos for two months to work as a receptionist in rental rooms, and now all her stuff burned in here, her degrees, her personal items, her laptop, everything.' Firefighters have battled multiple wildfires across Greece in recent days, including blazes threatening villages and towns near the western city of Patras, Greece's third-largest city. It's prompted thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate. The extreme European summer heat, which scientists say is becoming longer and more intense due to human-driven climate change , has fuelled similarly intense wildfires across Southern Europe, including in Spain, Portugal and the Balkans. 3600 firefighters continue to battle massive blazes in Portugal, and the country is under a state of alert until Sunday [[17 aug]], with no immediate sign of the heatwave lifting. Agustinha Nobre is a resident in the village of Benvende in Trancoso in the country's north. (Portuguese then English vo) 'It was a very difficult few hours. I thought I was going to lose my house. I was never in a situation like this. This was horrendous, the flames, luckily the land was watered down. I put water in the back and the firefighters managed to help otherwise my house and my sister's house would not survive.' Authorities in Spain have reported a 37-year-old volunteer firefighter is the third person to have died from fire related injuries, after suffering severe burns while battling flames in the northwestern Castile and Leon region. Thousands of people remain evacuated from their homes as nearly two dozen fires continued to rage across the country, particularly in Castile and Leon, and the Galicia region in far north-western Spain, where active fires span more than 200 square kilometres. 44-year old Beatriz Madrid is among residents forced to evacuate the rural village of Abejera de Tabara. She says the village had little support from firefighters, who were sent to other prioritised areas. (Spanish then English vo) 'We saw a smoke column we thought was quickly going to disappear, but since there was another fire in the area of Cubo de Benavente and Molezuelas there were no resources. Galicia and half of Spain is also on fire. In Spain's rural areas there are no resources, so we are abandoned.' In Albania, the Defence Ministry says wildfires are still active in 23 locations across the country, despite winds easing. Emergency personnel continue to tackle several blazes in the southernmost Delvine and central Gramsh districts, and dozens of residents have been evacuated from villages near the city of Polican. As southern Europe continues to grapple with some of their worst summer fires in decades, the European Union has sent support to Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania. European Union spokesperson Eva Hrncirova says the E-U has responded to multiple requests for assistance, and is sending firefighters to join national teams around Europe. "Spain asked for assistance and activated the civil protection mechanism for the first time ever. For the forest fires. And we quickly mobilised two rescue planes that were stationed in France and they are expected to be deployed today. Greece activated the mechanism 2 days ago in response to Swedish rescue helicopters currently in Bulgaria are expected to be deployed." As fires continue to rage, dozens of arrests have been made across the continent . Spanish police have arrested a man in Zamora province for starting a fire on a plot of land used to dump rubbish illegally. Another man was arrested for provoking six fires earlier in August in the southern province of Malaga according to local police, and another 38 people are under investigation for deliberately starting forest fires. In Albania, police have arrested 46 suspected arsonists, and have launched cases against 91 others for lighting fires.