{
  "id": 19592,
  "title": "Wildfires: New fires in Europe – Highest alert level in the greater Athens area",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/waldbrande-neue-brande-in-europa-hochste-alarmstufe-im-gro-raum-athen",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-01T15:19:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/waldbraende-neue-braende-in-europa-hoechste-alarmstufe-im-grossraum-athen/100244408.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "Large wildfires are raging across Europe, causing widespread devastation and prompting emergency evacuations. Paris, Madrid, Athens and Ankara have all been hit by the flames, with Turkey suffering hundreds of burned forests and up to 100 homes burned in a Greek coastal town. In France alone, 1,000 hectares have been consumed by fires, placing immense strain on local emergency services.\n\nIn Spain, 46 active fires continue to burn, further fueling the ongoing wildfire season. As evacuations have taken place in cities along the French Atlantic coast and in Spain, many residents and tourists have been able to return home. However, the situation remains tense in other regions.\n\nA wildfire in southern France has recently made a dramatic return, bringing renewed urgency to firefighting efforts. In Greece, the current wildfire situation is particularly dire, with officials reporting that the blaze will remain under control for now. Still, there are \"active zones\" that require ongoing monitoring.\n\nWith the improvement of the situation in southern France, more than 10,000 additional people will be able to return to their homes. As of now, 198,000 of the 224,000 affected individuals have been allowed to go back to their residences.\n\nOverall, French authorities have reported that wildfires have affected 119,000 hectares of forest since the start of the year. According to Laurent Nuñez, France's Interior Minister, these figures underscore the ongoing challenges faced by firefighters and emergency responders across the country.",
  "summary": "Mixed picture of forest fires in the EU and Turkey: While there is cautious all-clear in many places, several large fires are raging, especially in Greece.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Handelsblatt",
        "title": "Greece: Forest fires threaten small town of Megara west of Athens",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/griechenland-waldbrande-bedrohen-kleinstadt-megara-westlich-von-athen",
        "published": "2026-08-04T09:52:59.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}