Europe’s Wildfire Crisis Deepens: New Deaths, Mass Evacuations Across Southern Regions

Devastating wildfires continued to rage across southern Europe on Wednesday, claiming at least three more lives in Spain, Turkey, and Albania. The escalating crisis has forced thousands to evacuate their homes and stretched firefighting resources thin across multiple countries battling relentless blazes.

In Greece, firefighters battled through the night to protect the perimeter of Patras, the country’s third-largest city, as flames tore through forests and olive groves, incinerating dozens of vehicles. Officials warned of continued high fire risk across the nation, with residents joining efforts to combat the inferno as water-dropping aircraft swooped overhead.

Spain reported the death of a firefighting volunteer in the hard-hit Castile and León region, where thousands have been displaced and evacuation centers are at capacity. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez emphasized the severity of the situation, urging extreme precautions. In Albania, an 80-year-old man died in a blaze south of the capital, Tirana, with dozens of homes gutted and explosions from buried WWII-era artillery shells reported in other affected areas.

Turkey also confirmed the death of a forestry worker in an accident involving a fire truck, adding to the 18 fatalities reported since the country’s severe wildfire season began in late June. While France, still recovering from its own recent massive fires, braced for a third consecutive day of extreme temperatures, officials across the continent cited various causes for the blazes, including careless practices, faulty infrastructure, and lightning storms, with some instances of suspected arson.

The European Union has deployed significant aid, including ground crews and aircraft, to assist affected nations, including non-member states like Montenegro, where major wildfires continue to burn. The ongoing crisis underscores the shared vulnerability to natural disasters across the region.

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