Greek firefighters battle deadly wildfires on Crete for a second day
More than 200 firefighters and aircraft battled two blazes as strong winds and heat drove evacuations and damaged farms and homes, officials said.
- On Thursday, more than 200 firefighters battled two wildfires on Crete for a second day, as three Greek firefighters died Wednesday while confronting flames fanned by strong winds and extreme heat.
- Record-Breaking heatwaves across Europe have intensified conditions enabling rapid fire spread, as the continent warms at more than twice the global average. Extreme heat and drought turned vegetation into combustible fuel.
- Across France and Spain, roughly 330,000 people were driven from homes and vacation sites at the crisis peak. Meanwhile, some evacuation orders in Spain were recently lifted as firefighters continued battling uncontained blazes.
- Giorgos Tsapakos, deputy regional governor for civil protection on Crete, warned that strong winds prevented aircraft from operating Thursday. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska warned of "three tough days" ahead with high temperatures.
- The head of the European Union's emergency response centre cautioned Wednesday that Greece and Italy face heightened wildfire risk in the coming weeks. Crews remain mobilized across southern Europe to confront the punishing mix of heat, drought and strong winds.
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Strong gusts of wind are making firefighting work difficult on the popular Greek holiday island, where two firefighters have died in the line of duty.
Deutsche Welle
Crete wildfires cause evacuations and firefighter deaths
Wildfires on the Greek island of Crete are forcing thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate. Three firefighters have died as Greece becomes the latest country, after France and Spain, to face summer blazes.
According to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, approximately 1,100 travel notifications have currently been made from Finland to Greece.
Greece fights forest fires while everything in Crete remains out of control and threatens new locations. Adverse weather conditions, such as high temperatures, strong winds and prolonged droughts, have contributed to the rapid spread of fires in several areas, hindering control efforts. The situation in Crete, the largest and most populous island in the country, is particularly serious, as the flames remain out of control, threatening several lo…
The fourth heat wave of the summer has begun in Spain and France, as firefighters try to prevent the re-ignition of large fires that were only recently brought under control.
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