Wildfire danger in Europe shifts to Greece as evacuation orders remain in France
For Greece, the danger carried grim resonance: a 2018 wildfire at the seaside community of Mati, near Athens, killed 104 people.
Europe's wildfire emergency shifted to Greece over the weekend, with gale-force winds driving flames through a seaside resort and forcing residents to flee by sea. This comes in the wake of the deadliest wildfire in Europe's history, which killed 104 people near Athens in 2018. In southwestern France, firefighters contained a large wildfire in the Gironde region, allowing about 198,000 people to return home after what may have been the country's largest peacetime evacuation.
Meanwhile, firefighters in southeastern France continued to work on another wildfire. In Spain, major fires were no longer advancing, and Portugal's main blaze was under control. The increased danger in Greece highlights the impact of rising temperatures and prolonged drought on vegetation, making fires spread faster and burn more intensely.
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- Weather Whiplash Helped Fuel the Wildfires in France and Spain e360.yale.edu
- Wildfires in Europe: blazes continue to spread in France and Greece euronews.com
- Firefighters tackle wildfires in several areas in Greece rte.ie
- Greece battles wildfires, including near Athens dw.com
- Greece battles raging wildfires as flames appear to ease in France aljazeera.com
- Here’s what supercharged the monster wildfires in Spain and France grist.org
