Thousands evacuated as wildfires spread across Europe
Turkish authorities battled 84 fires, with 3,000 hectares scorched around Bursa, and declared Izmir and Bilecik disaster areas.
Greece experienced 55 wildfires in 24 hours, leading to evacuations in Athens suburbs, with five blazes still active.
Unseasonably high temperatures, including a record 50.5C in Turkey, coupled with dry conditions and strong winds, are fuelling severe wildfires across Europe.
Other European nations affected include Spain, where two died in a Catalonia wildfire, and France, where a blaze near Marseille injured 110 people.
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Europe burns once more as deadly wildfires sweep France and Spain, forcing tourists to evacuate and killing one woman in her home
Europe is battling a new wave of deadly wildfires as dramatic blazes sweep France and Spain, forcing panicking tourists to evacuate and killing one woman in her home. It comes as a scorching heatwave continues to grip Europe with multiple countries recording their hottest temperatures yet as scientists warn of the mounting impact of climate change. The fast-moving wildfire in southern France burned through some 13,000 hectares of land, a swathe as large as Paris, local officials said on Wednesday. The blaze, believed to have been started by a discarded cigarette butt, has destroyed or damaged 25 homes in the Aude department, where 1,500 firefighters have been battling to extinguish it. A woman died in her home and two people were injured, one of whom is now in critical condition with severe burns, according to the Aude prefecture. The blaze marks the biggest in France in a summer which has already seen some 9,000 fires, mainly along its Mediterranean coast. Meanwhile, a dramatic forest fire near a beach resort in southern Spain also forced the evacuation of around 1,500 tourists and locals in a blaze that one official called 'the fastest-spreading fire I've ever seen'. Hundreds of people were said to have bunkered down in a shelter in Algeciras after being evacuated from hotels and homes near the fire in Tarifa, as beach bars and campsites were abandoned in the chaos. Firefighters were still working to extinguish the fire on Wednesday, having battled through the night to control the blaze that required a team of up to 17 aircraft. The woman who died in France was a 65-year-old who lived alone, according to French media, whose house was engulfed by the flames. 'The resident absolutely wanted to stay in her house and unfortunately the fire quickly arrived and engulfed her house,' the mayor of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, Xavier de Volontat, said. 'People are losing everything,' said Aude Damesin, who lives in the town of Fabrezan. 'I find it tragic to see so many fires since the beginning of the summer.' 'The fire is still spreading and is far from being contained or under control,' said Remi Recio, an official in the southern city of Narbonne. The Aude department in particular - a rural and wooded area - has seen an increase in areas burnt in recent years, aggravated by low rainfall and the removal of vineyards, which used to help brake the advance of fires. 'The fire is advancing in an area where all the conditions are ripe for it to progress. We are monitoring the edges and the back of the fire to prevent flare-ups,' said Lucie Roesch, secretary general of the Aude prefecture. The fire broke out Tuesday afternoon in the village of Ribaute. Planes were dropping water on the flames but Roesch warned 'this fire will keep us busy for several days. It's a long-term operation'. A firefighting vehicle drives past houses near an area devastated by a wildfire near Fontjoncouse, southwestern France One person was seriously burned and another injured, the prefecture said, adding that seven firefighters were also hurt. 'All of the Nation's resources are mobilised,' French President Emmanuel Macron said on X, while calling on people to exercise 'the utmost caution'. Camping grounds and one village were partially evacuated, and several local roads have been closed. The fires have spread through a stretch of land roughly equivalent to the size of the French capital between Carcassonne and Narbonne. Four Canadairs, two Dashes and a water bomber helicopter resumed service around 7 am on Wednesday morning to fight the flames, as 100 police officers supported the effort. Meanwhile in Spain, the flames are spreading in the hills of Torre de la Peña, behind the hugely popular resort of Tarifa. According to the Andalucia firefighter service INFOCA, there are gusts of 20-25km/hr that are favouring the fire's spread. The fire is snaking very close to the N-340 highway and the Estrecho Natural Park - the former of which has been partially closed between Las Piñas and Pedro Valiente. All bars, restaurants or hotels have been evacuated between La Peña and Casas de Porros, reports local newspaper Europa Sur. According to the local police, the fire started in a motorhome at the Torre la Peña campsite, which also had to be evacuated. The flames then blew westward, away from the campsite, and spread rapidly through a hilly and grassland area where homes and tourist establishments are scattered - including the Wawa Hotel, which is reported to have been affected by the fire. Several beach bars and 'chiringuitos' have also been evacuated due to the large amounts of ash being carried down to the shore. Some 17 aircraft have been roped in to tackle the inferno, which took hold in Cadiz in Andalusia on Tuesday afternoon. The current firefighting operation involves five helicopters, two water-carrying planes and a coordination plane, five forest fire ground crews and more. Tarifa Mayor Antonio Santos has described the situation as unprecedented. 'This is the fastest-spreading fire I've ever seen,' he said on national channel La Sexta. Tarifa is often branded a 'surfer's paradise' due to its extremely wide beaches and tall waves. Hundreds of the people evacuated from hotels and homes by the fire were said to have spent the night in a hostel in Algeciras, while droves found shelter in a La Marina sports centre in Tarifa as 5,000 fled the area in cars. Fire stations from elsewhere in the province including Chiclana, Benalup and Los Barrios sent troops to assist the effort against the blaze in Tarifa, as attempts are being concentrated on controlling the fire on the north and east flanks. It comes just days after blazes erupted in Portugal, Greece, and Spain, while tornadoes struck tourist hotspots in parts of Spain and Switzerland. Thousands of firefighters battled a dozen wildfires raging in northern Portugal and central Spain into Wednesday, in the largest wave of blazes in the Iberian Peninsula so far this year following weeks of summer heat. The largest wildfire burned in the wooded, mountainous Arouca area - some 300 km (185 miles) north of Lisbon - since Monday, leading to the closure of the scenic trails of Passadicos do Paiva, a popular tourist attraction. Some 800 firefighters and seven waterbombing aircraft tackled the blaze. 'There was a huge effort during the night, so now we have a somewhat calmer situation,' Civil Protection Commander Helder Silva told reporters, cautioning that shifting strong winds and a difficult terrain meant their work was far from over. 'It's a very large wildfire in areas with difficult access,' he said. Further north, a blaze raged from Saturday in the Peneda-Geres national park near the Spanish border, enveloping nearby villages in thick smoke that led to orders for residents to stay at home. Portuguese firefighters managed to control two large fires that started on Monday in the central areas of Penamacor and Nisa. Authorities said the Penamacor blaze had destroyed 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of forest. British tourists were put on alert as Greece wildfires spread amid a 44C heatwave in late July, causing homes to go up in flames in the coastal towns of Palaia Fokaia and Thymari 40 km (25 miles) southeast of Athens. Some 145 firefighters, 44 fire engines, ten firefighting planes and seven helicopters were deployed on site as residents of the town of Kryoneri, 12.5miles northeast of Athens, received three SMS warnings to evacuate on July 26.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Europe's hellfire: France's killer wildfire the size of PARIS continues to rage after tourists in Spain are evacuated and country reports more than 1,000 have died from the heat
France 's deadly wildfire is continuing to tear through the country and cause 'hellish' devastation while tourists are being evacuated in Spain as the country announces one of its highest monthly tallies of heat deaths. The rapidly-growing wildfire, currently burning through an area larger than Paris, in southern France that broke out on Tuesday burned through some 16,000 hectares and remains 'very active' as of Wednesday, according to officials. One woman died in her home and least 13 others were injured, including 11 firefighters, while at least three people were reported missing as about 2,100 firefighters and several water bomber aircraft battled the blaze that broke out in the village of Ribaute in the Aude region, a rural, wooded area that is home to several wineries. 'It's a scene of sadness and desolation,' said Jacques Piraux, mayor of the village of Jonquières, where all residents have been evacuated. 'It looks like a lunar landscape, everything is burned. More than half or three-quarters of the village has burned down.' It is believed to be the nation's worst wildfire since 1949. Meanwhile, 1,500 tourists and locals have been evacuated in Spain as a dramatic forest fire near a beach resort caused chaos in Tarifa, often branded a 'surfer's paradise' due to its extremely wide beaches and tall waves. Regional authorities in Spain said late on Wednesday that a wildfire raging near Tarifa that prompted evacuations had been 'stabilised'. The blaze in France - the biggest the country has seen all summer out of 9,000 fires - has damaged 25 homes in the Aude department, where 1,500 firefighters have been battling to extinguish it. A 65-year-old woman died in her home while nine others were injured, including seven firefighters were hurt as they fought the flames. A De Havilland Dash firefighting aircraft drops fire retardant on a forest fire burning in Saint Laurent de la Cabrerisse, Aude department, France, 6 August 2025 'The resident absolutely wanted to stay in her house and unfortunately the fire quickly arrived and engulfed her house,' said the mayor of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, Xavier de Volontat, about the victim. 'People are losing everything,' said Aude Damesin, who lives in the town of Fabrezan. 'I find it tragic to see so many fires since the beginning of the summer.' 'The fire is still spreading and is far from being contained or under control,' said Remi Recio, an official in the southern city of Narbonne. The Aude department in particular has seen an increase in areas burnt in recent years, aggravated by low rainfall and the removal of vineyards, which used to help brake the advance of fires. 'The fire is advancing in an area where all the conditions are ripe for it to progress. We are monitoring the edges and the back of the fire to prevent flare-ups,' said Lucie Roesch, secretary general of the Aude prefecture. Planes have been dropping water on the flames but Roesch warned 'this fire will keep us busy for several days. It's a long-term operation'. In Spain, hundreds of people were said to have bunkered down in a shelter in Algeciras after being evacuated from hotels and homes near the fire in Tarifa, as beach bars and campsites were abandoned in the chaos. Firefighters were still working to extinguish the fire on Wednesday, having battled through the night to control the blaze that required a team of up to 17 aircraft. The flames began spreading in the hills of Torre de la Peña, behind the hugely popular resort of Tarifa. According to the Andalucia firefighter service INFOCA, there are gusts of 20-25km/hr that are favouring the fire's spread. The fire was snaking very close to the N-340 highway and the Estrecho Natural Park - the former of which has been partially closed between Las Piñas and Pedro Valiente. Tarifa Mayor Antonio Santos has described the situation as unprecedented. 'This is the fastest-spreading fire I've ever seen,' he said on national channel La Sexta. Hundreds of the people evacuated from hotels and homes by the fire were said to have spent the night in a hostel in Algeciras, while droves found shelter in a La Marina sports centre in Tarifa as 5,000 fled the area in cars. Fire stations from elsewhere in the province including Chiclana, Benalup and Los Barrios sent troops to assist the effort against the blaze in Tarifa, as attempts are being concentrated on controlling the fire on the north and east flanks. The heatwave is expected to last until next Sunday, according to Spain's State Meteorological Agency (Aemet). Tourists sit on the beach as the smoke from wildfires raging in the Aude department is seen from the Mediterranean coast in Banyuls-sur-Mer, southwestern France, on August 5 All bars, restaurants or hotels have been evacuated between La Peña and Casas de Porros, reports local newspaper Europa Sur, including beach bars and 'chiringuitos' due to the large amounts of ash being carried down to the shore. According to the local police, the fire started in a motorhome at the Torre la Peña campsite, which also had to be evacuated. The flames then blew westward, away from the campsite, and spread rapidly through a hilly and grassland area where homes and tourist establishments are scattered - including the Wawa Hotel, which is reported to have been affected by the fire. Some 17 aircraft have been roped in to tackle the inferno, which took hold in Cadiz in Andalusia on Tuesday afternoon. The current firefighting operation involves five helicopters, two water-carrying planes and a coordination plane, five forest fire ground crews and more. In the wake of the French fire, French President Emmanuel Macron called on people to exercise the 'utmost caution', saying on X: 'All of the Nation's resources are mobilised.' Camping grounds and one village were partially evacuated, and several local roads have been closed. The fires there spread through a stretch of land roughly equivalent to the size of the French capital between Carcassonne and Narbonne. Four Canadairs, two Dashes and a water bomber helicopter resumed service around 7 am on Wednesday morning to fight the flames, as 100 police officers supported the effort. It comes as the country sees one of its worst months for heat-related deaths, with 1,060 people having died due to high temperatures in July, a 57 per cent increase from figures last year. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed of the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires. The two blazes come just days after fires erupted in Portugal, Greece, and Spain, while tornadoes struck tourist hotspots in parts of Spain and Switzerland. Thousands of firefighters battled a dozen wildfires raging in northern Portugal and central Spain into Wednesday, in the largest wave of blazes in the Iberian Peninsula so far this year following weeks of summer heat. The largest wildfire burned in the wooded, mountainous Arouca area - 185 miles north of Lisbon - since Monday, leading to the closure of the scenic trails of Passadicos do Paiva, a popular tourist attraction. Some 800 firefighters and seven waterbombing aircraft tackled the blaze. 'There was a huge effort during the night, so now we have a somewhat calmer situation,' Civil Protection Commander Helder Silva told reporters, cautioning that shifting strong winds and a difficult terrain meant their work was far from over. 'It's a very large wildfire in areas with difficult access,' he said. Further north, a blaze raged from Saturday in the Peneda-Geres national park near the Spanish border, enveloping nearby villages in thick smoke that led to orders for residents to stay at home. Portuguese firefighters managed to control two large fires that started on Monday in the central areas of Penamacor and Nisa. Authorities said the Penamacor blaze had destroyed 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of forest. British tourists were put on alert as Greece wildfires spread amid a 44C heatwave in late July, causing homes to go up in flames in the coastal towns of Palaia Fokaia and Thymari 25 miles southeast of Athens. Some 145 firefighters, 44 fire engines, ten firefighting planes and seven helicopters were deployed on site as residents of the town of Kryoneri, 12.5miles northeast of Athens, received three SMS warnings to evacuate on July 26.
BreakingNews.ie
11 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Massive wildfire becomes California's largest blaze of the year
Rising temperatures are posing new challenges for firefighters who have made incremental progress against a massive wildfire in central California which has become the biggest blaze in the state so far this year. More than 870 remote homes and other structures at the northern edge of Los Padres National Forest are threatened by the Gifford Fire, which grew slightly overnight after burning out of control for days. Advertisement The fire has scorched at least 131 square miles of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with just 9% containment. Smoke from the Gifford Fire fills the sky over Los Padres National Forest (Noah Berger/AP) It surpassed the 126 square mile Madre Fire, which erupted last month in south-eastern San Luis Obispo County, as the state's largest fire of 2025. Crews working in steep, inaccessible terrain will be dealing with temperatures around 35C on Wednesday and above 38C on Thursday, said Captain Scott Safechuck with Santa Barbara County Fire Department. 'We have hot weather, and we have low relative humidity,' he said. 'So we expect extreme fire behaviour.' Advertisement Luckily, winds are expected to remain relatively calm, he added. Wildfire risk will be elevated through the weekend across much of inland California as the heatwave intensifies. The southern part of the state has seen very little rain, drying out vegetation and making it 'ripe to burn', the National Weather Service for Los Angeles warned in a statement. An air tanker drops retardant on the Gifford Fire (Noah Berger/AP) Temperatures around 38C are forecast for the Sacramento Valley. Advertisement More than 2,200 personnel are battling the Gifford Fire, which grew out of at least four smaller fires that erupted on Friday along State Route 166, forcing closures in both directions east of Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 people. The causes of the fires are under investigation. Flames are racing through a vast, mostly unpopulated region that includes forests, ranches, large canyon properties and agricultural parcels growing wine grapes and strawberries. The weather service warned of health risks from spreading smoke that could affect much of south-west California. Officials reported four injuries, including a firefighter who was treated for dehydration. Over the weekend, a motorist was treated in hospital for burn injuries after getting out of his vehicle and being overrun by flames, and two contract employees assisting firefighters were hurt when their all-terrain vehicle overturned. Advertisement
