ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Hearth crews in Greece, Spain and Portugal raced Thursday to include wildfires, profiting from calmer winds that slowed the blazes’ advance. A lot of southern Europe, nonetheless, stays at excessive threat below scorching, dry circumstances.
A drop in wind speeds allowed firefighting plane within the three hard-hit international locations to step up water drops, concentrating on present fireplace zones moderately than chasing fast-moving fronts. Authorities warned that excessive temperatures are more likely to persist.
Spanish authorities reported the demise of a 37-year-old volunteer firefighter who sustained extreme burns in an space north of Madrid this week. It was the third reported demise in Spain as a result of latest fires. 1000’s of individuals have been evacuated from their properties within the area and nonetheless cannot return.
In Greece, the Hearth Service stated a significant blaze outdoors the southern port metropolis of Patras has been contained on the outskirts of city areas after a large-scale deployment. Three folks have been arrested in reference to the fireplace, which authorities stated could have been intentionally set.
The European Union’s civil safety company stated it responded to requests for help this week from Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania, sending firefighting planes and helicopters from different member states.
The company stated it had already activated help 16 occasions amid this summer time’s wildfires as European international locations have been hit by “a excessive variety of catastrophic wildfires.”
The variety of activations for 2025 already matches the overall for wildfires throughout all the 2024 fireplace season, it stated.
