Three dead as wildfires spread in Greece, Spain and Turkey
Firefighters are battling to protect major cities and ports
Firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire in Sichena of Achaia, Peloponnese, Greece
Wildfires intensified across southern Europe on Wednesday after a overnight battle to protect the perimeter of Greece's third-largest city, with at least three more deaths reported in Spain, Turkey and Albania. Firefighters outside the Greek port city of Patras struggled to protect homes and agricultural facilities as flames tore through olive groves.
As water-dropping planes and helicopters swooped overhead, residents joined the effort, beating back flames with cut branches or dousing them with buckets of water. Firefighting resources were stretched thin in many affected countries as they battled multiple outbreaks following weeks of heat waves and temperature spikes across Mediterranean Europe.
Aircraft rotated between blazes on the western Greek mainland, the Patras area and the island of Zakynthos. Athens also sent assistance to neighbouring Albania, joining an international effort to combat dozens of wildfires.
Flames spread rapidly across a large area due to strong winds after a wildfire broke out in the Fotia region of Patra
An 80-year-old man died in one blaze south of the capital, Tirana, officials said on Wednesday. Residents of four villages were evacuated in central Albania near a former army ammunition depot.
In the southern Korca district, near the Greek border, explosions were reported from buried Second World War-era artillery shells. Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez expressed condolences after the death of a firefighting volunteer in the hard-hit Castile and Leon region north of Madrid, where thousands have been displaced by evacuations.
Firefighting efforts continue from both air and ground in Patra, Greece
The government raised its national emergency response level, preparing additional support for regional authorities overseeing multiple evacuations and major road closures. A forestry worker was also killed on Wednesday while responding to a wildfire in southern Turkey, officials said.
Article continues below
The forestry ministry said the worker died in an accident involving a fire truck that left four others injured. Turkey has been battling severe wildfires since late June.
A total of 18 people have been killed, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers who died in July.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
a day ago
- Metro
Smoke from apocalyptic wildfires in Spain and Portugal causing overcast UK skies
Smoke from wildfires raging across Europe has blown thousands of miles causing thick clouds to blot out the sun over swathes of the UK. Spain has been battling 14 major fires driven by high winds that have already killed seven people and burned an area the size of London. Friday's bright summer weather, which made thousands flock to the beach in heatwave conditions, came to a dismal end on Saturday in the UK. The Met Office posted on X: 'Noticed the sky isn't as blue today? Smoke from wildfires in Spain & Portugal, plus Saharan dust, has drifted over the UK. 'Expect enhanced sunsets & sunrises in the coming days — deeper reds & oranges thanks to light scattering.' Smoke from wildfires can travel thousands of miles if it is caught in jetstream. Toxic fumes can remain in the atmosphere for months, depending the intensity of the fires and weather patterns, according to the BBC. Firefighters have been battling to put out blazes across southern Europe in one of the worst summers for wildfires in 20 years. A nearly two-week heatwave and southerly winds were worsening the situation in Spain. Spain's national weather agency AEMET warned of extreme fire risk in the north and west of the country, as temperatures are expected to reach up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on the north coast. Wildfires have burned more than 157,000 hectares in Spain so far this year, almost double the annual average, according to the European Union's Forest Fire Information Service. In Galicia, several fires converged to form a large blaze, forcing the closure of highways and rail services to the region. 'We are waiting for the fire to come down to try and stop it, so it does not get to the houses,' Loli Baz, 52, said from the village of Villanueva de la Sierra in Zamora. A second volunteer firefighter has died after battling a wildfire in the northern Spanish province of Leon. Local media identified the man as 37-year-old Jaime Aparicio, who suffered burns to 85% of his body after being trapped alongside another volunteer near the town of Nogarejas as they attempted to create firebreaks with brush cutters. His colleague Abel Ramos, 35, died on Tuesday. On Monday, a separate fire killed a man on the outskirts of Madrid. Police said they arrested a man in northern Zamora province for starting a fire on a plot of land used to dump rubbish illegally. The hot weather caused it to spread rapidly, burning 4,000 hectares (15.4 square miles) and leaving five people injured, they said. In neighbouring Portugal, meanwhile, thousands of firefighters were battling five large blazes in central and northern parts of the country, with one fire in Trancoso, some 350 km northeast of Lisbon, now raging for six days. More Trending Around 300 residents were evacuated on Friday from the village of Covanca near Piodao, an area of central Portugal popular with tourists, after a wildfire broke out on Wednesday. Portugal has activated the EU mechanism for assistance and requested four Canadair planes, according to civil protection commander Mario Silvestre. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa offered his 'heartfelt condolences' to Carlos Damaso, a former mayor of the town, who perished tackling a blaze in his district. MORE: We swerved a beach honeymoon for a European city break — we're itching to go back MORE: Terrified families jump into the sea to escape raging wildfires in Greece MORE: Venetians are up in arms after tourists expose 'secret' €2 gondola rides
Metro
a day ago
- Metro
Smoke from apocalyptic wildfires in Spain and Portugal smother UK skies
Smoke from wildfires raging across Europe has blown thousands of miles causing thick clouds to blot out the sun over swathes of the UK. Spain has been battling 14 major fires driven by high winds that have already killed seven people and burned an area the size of London. Friday's bright summer weather, which made thousands flock to the beach in heatwave conditions, came to a dismal end on Saturday in the UK. The Met Office posted on X: 'Noticed the sky isn't as blue today? Smoke from wildfires in Spain & Portugal, plus Saharan dust, has drifted over the UK. 'Expect enhanced sunsets & sunrises in the coming days — deeper reds & oranges thanks to light scattering.' Firefighters have been battling to put out blazes across southern Europe in one of the worst summers for wildfires in 20 years. A nearly two-week heatwave and southerly winds were worsening the situation in Spain. Spain's national weather agency AEMET warned of extreme fire risk in the north and west of the country, as temperatures are expected to reach up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on the north coast. Wildfires have burned more than 157,000 hectares in Spain so far this year, almost double the annual average, according to the European Union's Forest Fire Information Service. In Galicia, several fires converged to form a large blaze, forcing the closure of highways and rail services to the region. 'We are waiting for the fire to come down to try and stop it, so it does not get to the houses,' Loli Baz, 52, said from the village of Villanueva de la Sierra in Zamora. A second volunteer firefighter has died after battling a wildfire in the northern Spanish province of Leon. Local media identified the man as 37-year-old Jaime Aparicio, who suffered burns to 85% of his body after being trapped alongside another volunteer near the town of Nogarejas as they attempted to create firebreaks with brush cutters. His colleague Abel Ramos, 35, died on Tuesday. On Monday, a separate fire killed a man on the outskirts of Madrid. Police said they arrested a man in northern Zamora province for starting a fire on a plot of land used to dump rubbish illegally. The hot weather caused it to spread rapidly, burning 4,000 hectares (15.4 square miles) and leaving five people injured, they said. In neighbouring Portugal, meanwhile, thousands of firefighters were battling five large blazes in central and northern parts of the country, with one fire in Trancoso, some 350 km northeast of Lisbon, now raging for six days. Around 300 residents were evacuated on Friday from the village of Covanca near Piodao, an area of central Portugal popular with tourists, after a wildfire broke out on Wednesday. Portugal has activated the EU mechanism for assistance and requested four Canadair planes, according to civil protection commander Mario Silvestre. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa offered his 'heartfelt condolences' to Carlos Damaso, a former mayor of the town, who perished tackling a blaze in his district. MORE: We swerved a beach honeymoon for a European city break — we're itching to go back MORE: Terrified families jump into the sea to escape raging wildfires in Greece MORE: Venetians are up in arms after tourists expose 'secret' €2 gondola rides
Rhyl Journal
2 days ago
- Rhyl Journal
Spain, Portugal and Greece fight wildfires as heatwave expected to last for days
Spain is fighting 14 major fires, according to Virginia Barcones, general director of emergency services. Temperatures were expected to climb over the weekend. 'Today will once again be a very tough day, with an extreme risk of new fires,' Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X. The national weather agency AEMET warned of extreme fire risk in most of the country, including where the largest blazes were burning in the north and west. A heatwave which brought temperatures exceeding 40C on several days this month was expected to last until Monday. Fires in the Galicia region forced the closure of several highways. The high speed rail line connecting it to Spain's capital Madrid remained suspended. The fires in Spain this year have burned 158,000 hectares or 610 square miles, according to the European Union's European Forest Fire Information System. That is an area roughly as big as metropolitan London. In both Spain and Portugal it was the Feast of the Assumption, a major Catholic holiday usually marked by family gatherings and religious processions. In Portugal, nearly 4,000 firefighters were battling fires on Friday. Seven major fires were active. Authorities extended the state of alert until Sunday, amid high temperatures expected to last through the weekend. The Portuguese government on Friday requested assistance from the EU's civil protection mechanism, a firefighting force that European countries in need can call upon. A day before, Spain received two Canadair water bomber aircraft after requesting EU help to tackle blazes for the first time ever. In the past week, Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have requested help from the EU's firefighting force to deal with forest fires. The force has already been activated as many times this year as all of last year's fire season. On Friday, a wildfire in Greece burned out of control for a fourth day on the island of Chios, prompting several more overnight evacuations. Two water-dropping planes and two helicopters were operating in the north of the island in the eastern Aegean Sea, where local authorities said a lull in high winds was helping firefighters early on Friday. Following a series of large fires in western Greece earlier this week, the fire service was on alert on Friday outside Athens and nearby areas in the south of the country where adverse weather conditions elevated the fire risk. The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expressed solidarity on Friday with the victims of wildfires in southern Europe during prayers for the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, an important religious holiday for Orthodox Christians.
