MADRID, Aug 14, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Spain on Thursday mourned its third wildfire
death this week and Greece began beating back a blaze threatening its third-
largest city Patras as an unrelenting heatwave stoked tinderbox conditions in
southern Europe.
The extreme summer heat, which scientists say human-driven climate change is
lengthening and intensifying, has fuelled blazes and strained firefighters
across the region, including Portugal and the Balkans.
The fires have particularly scorched Spain, devouring almost 100,000 hectares
(250,000 acres) this year -- more than double the area burned during the same
period in 2024.
Spanish authorities said one person battling flames in the northwestern
Castile and Leon region had died, taking the toll to three after earlier
reporting fatalities there and near Madrid this week.
France announced it would send two water bombers to Spain, which had appealed
to the European Union for aircraft to reinforce hard-pressed firefighting
teams battling on several fronts, notably in the northwest.
Regional authorities in Castile and Leon have said almost 6,000 people from
26 localities have been evacuated from their homes.
- Greece fire receding -
Greece, which has also requested EU assistance against wildfires, gained
ground against a major blaze that had closed in on the western port city of
Patras.
Firefighters there faced "scattered" pockets of flames, but the fire was
"still active" in the eastern outskirts of the city of 250,000 people, fire
brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said.
Some 600 ground crews and nearly 30 water bombing aircraft deployed from dawn
in all locations, he said, but gentler winds were aiding the firefighting
effort.
Major outbreaks also stretched emergency services on the tourist island of
Zante, the Aegean island of Chios and near the western town of Preveza.
Citing data from the EU's Copernicus satellite monitoring programme, the
National Observatory of Athens said those fires and the Patras blaze had
burned more than 10,000 hectares.
State TV ERT said three men aged 19 to 27 had been detained on suspicion of
starting separate fires near Patras on Tuesday. Police confirmed one of the
arrests.
- 'It was frightening' -
Portugal mobilised more than 1,900 firefighters against four major blazes,
with one in the central area of Trancoso having razed an estimated 14,000
hectares since Saturday.
Another front that broke out on Wednesday in the mountainous central Arganil
area occupied more than 800 firefighters.
"The flames were enormous... it was frightening," a woman in the village of
Mourisia told Sic Noticias television as she gazed at a slope enveloped in
thick smoke.
Although vulnerable and elderly people had been evacuated as a precaution,
Antonio Silva refused to leave the village overnight.
"I wanted to be here to help," said the man in his 70s, his face shielded
with a mask.
The Balkans appeared to have overcome the worst of an exceptionally strong
heatwave that worsened its traditional fire season, destroying homes and
prompting the evacuation of thousands.
Albanian firefighters continued to struggle against blazes around the
country, with reports of more homes lost overnight.
In neighbouring Montenegro, easing conditions and water-bombing aircraft
helped gain the upper hand against wildfires.
Tourist hotspots Rome and Venice were among 16 Italian cities placed on red
alert for extreme heat, with peaks of 39C predicted for Florence on the eve
of a busy holiday weekend.